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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday November 05 2017, @03:29PM   Printer-friendly
from the vat-grown dept.

Submitted via IRC for takyon

Cargill Inc., one of the largest global agricultural companies, has joined Bill Gates and other business giants to invest in a nascent technology to make meat from self-producing animal cells amid rising consumer demand for protein that's less reliant on feed, land and water.

Memphis Meats, which produces beef, chicken and duck directly from animal cells without raising and slaughtering livestock or poultry, raised $17 million from investors including Cargill, Gates and billionaire Richard Branson, according to a statement Tuesday on the San Francisco-based startup's website. The fundraising round was led by venture-capital firm DFJ, which has previously backed several social-minded retail startups.

They made the first ever chicken and duck meat that were produced without the animals.

The company expects to have a product in stores by 2021.

"They're the leader in clean meat. There's no one else that far along," says venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson, whose firm led Memphis Meats' recent $17 million Series A. Before he met Valeti in 2016, Jurvetson spent almost five years researching lab-grown meat and meat alternatives, believing the market was set to explode. "They're the only one that convinced me they can get to a price point and a scale that would make a difference in the industry," he says.

Cargill is the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue ($109.7 billion in 2017).

Source: https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2017/10/cargill-bill-gates-richard-branson-backed-memphis-meats-expects-meat-from-cells-in-stores-by-2021.html

Previously: Lab-Grown Chicken (and Duck) Could be on the Menu in 4 Years

Related: Lab-grown meat would 'cut emissions and save energy'
Producing Beef has the Greatest Impact on the Environment Compared to Other Animal Based Foods
Real Vegan Cheese: Coming From a Yeast to You
Would You Try Silicon Valley's Bloody Plant Burger(s)?
Lab-Grown Pork Closer to Reality


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by ledow on Sunday November 05 2017, @04:11PM (12 children)

    by ledow (5567) on Sunday November 05 2017, @04:11PM (#592548) Homepage

    Omnivore myself.

    Have honestly NEVER CARED about the fact that meat comes from an animal bred for meat.

    Would still eat this if it were cheap, though. And still eat animals (because no way is it going to taste like a real chicken, have a skin, etc. and no way would they be able to produce every taste and texture of an existing animal that I might want to eat).

    However, I'm much more concerned that perfectly-edible meat, like horse and other animals, strange parts of the animals, etc. goes to waste or to make pet-food because people are squeamish about it. That was always something we did, always something we could continue to do safely, and yet pure fussiness means good food goes to waste.

    But lab-grown meat is going to gain acceptance from those same people? I can't see it.

    Personally, if it makes food cheaper, I'm all for it. "Affording to stay comfortably alive" is a privilege that we take too lightly, let alone "being able to eat almost anything we want", "picking up everything we need to survive in one shop", etc. And you don't need to be starving to benefit from some cheap meat.

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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Gaaark on Sunday November 05 2017, @04:53PM (9 children)

    by Gaaark (41) on Sunday November 05 2017, @04:53PM (#592559) Journal

    Yeah, i never got the "I'll eat pork and beef, but horse, dog or cat? NEVER!" thing.
    Are horses really better than pigs because we ride them?
    With that logic, i could eat the flesh of guys, but not women.

    I'd try dog and cat: i've eaten mealworms, so i think dog and cat would be much tastier.
    Rat: i'd eat if prepared properly (don't know whether cooking it would destroy any plague they may carry, lol)

    Would like to try haggis, but sooo difficult to hunt in the wild. ;)

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 05 2017, @05:24PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday November 05 2017, @05:24PM (#592574) Journal

      There's an instructable for that. http://www.instructables.com/id/Haggis-hunting/ [instructables.com] That young huntsman helps to remove most of the difficulty.

    • (Score: 2) by looorg on Sunday November 05 2017, @05:25PM

      by looorg (578) on Sunday November 05 2017, @05:25PM (#592576)

      Yeah, i never got the "I'll eat pork and beef, but horse, dog or cat? NEVER!" thing.
      Are horses really better than pigs because we ride them?
      With that logic, i could eat the flesh of guys, but not women.
      I'd try dog and cat: i've eaten mealworms, so i think dog and cat would be much tastier.
      Rat: i'd eat if prepared properly (don't know whether cooking it would destroy any plague they may carry, lol)
      Would like to try haggis, but sooo difficult to hunt in the wild. ;)

      Hard to hunt haggis in the wild? It's sheep. They are one of the more stupid animals. They wouldn't be hard to hunt at all. Not sure if there are any large populations of wild sheep around. I can't say anything about the taste either, it's not a very appealing dish in my mind.

      With that said Horse taste great. Dog was nothing special. Never tried cat, worms or rats (as far as I know). I'm not entirely sure about the logic chain, it's not like we don't eat beasts of burden. We have just endowed various animals with cuteness or something and then decided that we won't eat them. Except that we totally would if we had to. It's just a matter of the position on the food chain vs hunger or desire. After all as noted by others if things come down to eat or die then some people will eat other people. I hope I would have to stomach for it.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguayan_Air_Force_Flight_571 [wikipedia.org]

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 05 2017, @06:16PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 05 2017, @06:16PM (#592591)

      It's mostly because cats were essential to protecting our grains against rats and mice. Dogs were mostly around us because they were working for us doing things like helping us track game and scare off predators.

      Other "cute" animals mostly get eaten by people as they have no particular value to us other than as food. Rabbits are a good example, they aren't eaten as often now as they used to be, but they're definitely something that you can put on the menu at a restaurant without people thinking you're weird.

    • (Score: 3, Disagree) by fliptop on Sunday November 05 2017, @07:20PM (5 children)

      by fliptop (1666) on Sunday November 05 2017, @07:20PM (#592613) Journal

      Rat: i'd eat if prepared properly

      Try squirrel, or opossum for that matter. A squirrel is basically a rat that lives in trees. Since they eat only nuts their meat is kind of sweet. If marinated and prepared properly it's pretty good.

      --
      Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
      • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Sunday November 05 2017, @07:40PM (4 children)

        by Gaaark (41) on Sunday November 05 2017, @07:40PM (#592621) Journal

        I should look up a squirrel trap.....hmmmm....

        --
        --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
        • (Score: 2) by fliptop on Sunday November 05 2017, @09:41PM

          by fliptop (1666) on Sunday November 05 2017, @09:41PM (#592664) Journal

          I should look up a squirrel trap

          I use a .410 shotgun, but a .22 or even a pellet gun would do the trick.

          --
          Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
        • (Score: 3, Informative) by t-3 on Monday November 06 2017, @02:38AM (2 children)

          by t-3 (4907) on Monday November 06 2017, @02:38AM (#592778)

          Squirrel meat is the number 1 source of bubonic plague in the US, and they can also harbor other nasty diseases. Don't eat rodents unless you have to.

          • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Monday November 06 2017, @02:57AM

            by Gaaark (41) on Monday November 06 2017, @02:57AM (#592782) Journal

            Awwww... This is why we can't have nice things. Like squirrel nuts roasting on an open fire.

            --
            --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
          • (Score: 2) by fliptop on Monday November 06 2017, @03:00AM

            by fliptop (1666) on Monday November 06 2017, @03:00AM (#592783) Journal

            Squirrel meat is the number 1 source of bubonic plague in the US

            The odds of that are very remote [yahoo.com]. I usually shoot and eat 8-10 squirrels every year and have never had an issue, not even w/ warbles which is much more likely.

            --
            Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by mhajicek on Sunday November 05 2017, @06:59PM (1 child)

    by mhajicek (51) on Sunday November 05 2017, @06:59PM (#592602)

    "strange parts of the animals, etc."

    Ever eaten a hot dog?

    --
    The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 06 2017, @06:01PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 06 2017, @06:01PM (#593202)
      Yes. Some have so much filler the pig could have survived the flesh wound ;).