Australia @aussie.zone tau @aussie.zone 1y ago

Lab-produced meat could be on Australian supermarket shelves as soon as next year

www.abc.net.au Plant-based meat is already out there — now 'real' meat grown in a lab could soon be on the grocery list

The national food standards body is assessing an application to sell luxury lab-grown meat products, while another company with a cultured lamb burger is waiting to see if customers bite.

28 comments

Interestingly, the US conservatives have been attacking lab-grown meat lately. So expect similar attacks to start showing up here soon.

Personally I would love to have more alternatives. I enjoy trying out alternative protein sources, not for ideological reasons. I just enjoy flavours and textures. And if they happen to be better for the environment, well bonus!
- That probably means that lab grown meat is a good thing with real commercial prospects then.
  
  ~~First they ignore you~~
  
  ~~Then they ridicule you~~
  
  Then they attack you
- Interestingly, the US conservatives have been attacking lab-grown meat lately. So expect similar attacks to start showing up here soon.
  
  I recall reading a few years ago that the National Farmers Fed were lobbying the Coalition govt to legislate the definition of meat. IIRC this was in response to plant based just substitutes, but they probably also had lab meat in mind as well. I can't find source on this though.
Looks like the same guys were doing publicity around 2019 https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2019-07-30/australia-joins-lab-grown-meat-industry/11360506
At the time, they claimed the cost to make a single hamburger was $30-$40, and now 4 years later, they claim to have gotten it down to $5-$6 per patty.
The article claims the first demonstration of a lab-grown hamburger was in 2013.

So 6 years from proof of concept to (probably) first capital raise, then 4 years to start regulatory approval, 1 year for approval to take place (target is March next year).
- That's pretty impressive. Would mean that claim for the $1 pricing to be quite realistic.
  
  Would be very interested to see how their lab grown steak goes. Do their meats include fat?
Then tell me next year 😆
I can't imagine it'd be a substitute for good steak. Sausages, mince and the like though? Sure, why not.
- Sure, instead of replacing some meat with lentils in my Bolognese sauce, this sounds better. But if it's now being engineered, who knows if they can make something better than steak eventually? If an AI can fold proteins and invent new drugs, maybe there's a new frontier of designer beef cuts.
It won't matter. If it's good, they'll export it, and leave us with the left over soylent green for $50/kg
i would try it XD
- I'm so sick of our intensified farmers constantly needing bail outs, it'd be my new main just for political reasons
  
  But they only need bail outs during bad times. When it's a good season they get to keep all their profits!
I'm willing to give it a shot depending on the price. Last I heard lab grown meats were unpalatable because it was all lean meat. I do remember reading they were getting around that by 3D printing with meat and fat layers but it was still very cost prohibitive.
- If it tastes alright and is well under the price of meat then I'll definitely give it a shot too.
  
  If it costs more than actual meat then I won't bother.
I want to know if this Vow company uses Fetal Bovine Serum in its cell growth process. Last I read, there were alternatives being developed, but I don't know how advanced they are now.

I would only have a reason to try this stuff if it's genuinely slaughter free.
if ppl really dont wanna eat meat: eat vegetables and the like. dont try to create fake meat
- Why not?
  
  Yeah, no gatekeeping vegetarianism thanks. Also: you don't have to not eat meat to eat this.
Apart from the meat slurry barf factor 🤮 its incredibly environmentally unfriendly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0zCf4Yup34
- I wouldn't listen to this guy on climate/vegan issues, he has a history of making up bullshit.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkMOQ9X76UU
  
  Meat from dead animals is already incredibly environmentally unfriendly.
  https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local.
  
  Just eat plants.
  
  Also, why is lab made meat more barf inducing than real living animals being abused and killed for profit/taste?
  
  I agree with everything you said, and I want to add;
  
  As long as lab grown meat is approved for consumption, the methods of producing it can be made more and more environmentally friendly. It's a matter of regulation+development.

28 comments