Guiltless Meat? Scientists Developing Stem Cell Sausage As First Artificial Meat

In the Netherlands, scientists are close to producing the first artificial meat — stem cell sausage grown in the lab without the need to slaughter animals. The question is whether this means that vegetarians who now refuse to eat meat for philosophical reasons would be able to eat a ribeye without moral qualms.

Dutch researcher Dr. Mark Post, of Maastricht University, expects to put synthetic sausage on the lab menu within six months. He is quoted as saying “I’m hopeful we can have a hamburger in a year.”

Post notes that the meat made from “pig cells fed with horse fetal serum” still needs a few improvements like the fact that it is white since there is no blood in it. Then there is the cost. The first hamburger is expected to cost 250,000 euros. This is a bit pricey for a white hamburger.

As a Western movie fan, I am a bit worried about the future of the genre. Watching John Wayne pushing carts around a lab is not quite the same. Is it still necessary to sing to the test tubes at night to calm the little doggies? Of course, this is the final revenge of the nerds who can now claim the same job as cowboys in working the herd.