Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Monday May 14 2018, @03:06AM   Printer-friendly
from the what's-the-beef? dept.

Don't listen to Big Cattle — lab-grown meat should still be called "meat"

Lab-grown meat is on its way, and the government is trying to figure out how to regulate it. This week, the US House of Representatives [pdf] released a draft spending bill that proposes that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulate lab-grown meat and figure out how it should be labeled — which is a contentious topic since Big Cattle doesn't want it to be called "meat." Regulation is important, and there's plenty more to learn, but the USDA shouldn't be the only one regulating. And when the product comes to market, yes, it should be called "meat."

Traditional meat, of course, comes from animals that are raised and slaughtered. Lab-grown meat (also called "in-vitro meat," "cultured meat," or "clean meat") is made from animal stem cells grown in a lab. But because the stem cells are typically fed with a serum derived from the blood of calf fetuses, the product uses animal products and isn't vegan. Still, the pitch for lab-grown meat is that it saves animals and also helps the environment because lab-grown meat doesn't take much land or energy to grow. Plus, lab-grown meat doesn't directly create methane emissions, while methane emissions from cows accounted for 16 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2015.

Because of the way that government agencies work, it hasn't even been clear who should regulate lab meat. The USDA traditionally regulates meat, while the US Food and Drug Administration regulates food safety and additives. The proposal that the USDA be in charge of regulation is in line with what the [pdf] National Cattlemen's Beef Association wanted, but some lab-meat advocates fear that USDA will be biased against them in favor of traditional meat. If the USDA will be regulating lab meat, it should at least collaborate with the FDA. There are no slaughterhouses for the USDA to inspect anyway, and the FDA has already been regulating food technology, like the genetically engineered salmon it approved. It makes the most sense for the two to work together.

Previously: U.S. Cattlemen's Association Wants an Official Definition of "Meat"

Related: Lab-Grown Chicken (and Duck) Could be on the Menu in 4 Years
Cargill, Bill Gates, Richard Branson Backed Memphis Meats Expects Meat From Cells in Stores by 2021
'Soylent' Dawkins? Atheist Mulls 'Taboo Against Cannibalism' Ending as Lab-Grown Meat Improves


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Monday May 14 2018, @05:43AM (4 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday May 14 2018, @05:43AM (#679434) Journal

    It's meat.

    Maybe you're alluding to the lab-grown burger, which was made completely of small strands of muscle cells put together, but with no fat cells, like 100% lean ground beef. And that will probably remain one of the easiest forms of lab-grown meat to manufacture. But it is possible that they will figure out how to make real "cuts" with fat and even bone in the right places. In the short term, they will be able to produce something that is indistinguishable from lean ground beef, unlike the many vegetarian meat imitations out there. Something like the Impossible Burger [wikipedia.org] is the closest to actually getting into an uncanny valley of non-meat. But lab-grown/cultured meat is meat, just like 96% lean ground beef or some kind of McD's/Taco Bell pink slime mix is.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Interesting=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   3  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @11:50AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @11:50AM (#679530)

    But it is possible that they will figure out how to make real "cuts" with fat and even bone in the right places.

    I'll be happy to consider that meat. But I don't consider most sausages as meat not even if they have some muscle cells somewhere.

    So hopefully they can draw a suitable line where something meets the standards for meat that most people would agree with :).

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Monday May 14 2018, @12:03PM (1 child)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Monday May 14 2018, @12:03PM (#679538) Journal

      https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/meat-preparation/sausages-and-food-safety/ct_index [usda.gov]

      • "Fresh Pork Sausages" may not contain pork byproducts and may contain no more than 50% fat by weight.
      • "Fresh Beef Sausages" may not contain beef byproducts and may contain no more than 30% fat by weight.
      • "Breakfast Sausages" may contain meat and meat byproducts and no more than 50% fat by weight.
      • "Whole Hog Sausage" contains meat from swine in such proportions as are normal to a single animal and no more than 50% fat by weight.
      • "Italian Sausage Products" are cured or uncured sausages containing at least 85% meat, or a combination of meat and fat, with the total fat content constituting not more than 35% of the finished product. It contains salt, pepper, fennel and/or anise and no more than 3% water. Optional ingredients permitted in Italian Sausages are spices (including paprika) and flavorings, red or green peppers, onions, garlic and parsley, sugar, dextrose and corn syrup.

      ... and so on. The USDA standards can be pretty permissive compared to your view. Cultured meat could slot in there easily by defining the muscle cells as the main meat content and respecting applicable fat limits while containing no byproducts (so it could easily beat a lot of sausages in quality terms).

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @06:01PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @06:01PM (#679676)

        You should mention that meat is required. It's not enough to limit byproducts.

        Fresh sausages are a coarse or finely "comminuted" (reduced to minute particles) meat food product prepared from one or more kinds of meat, or meat and meat "byproducts" (heart, kidney, or liver, for example). They may contain water not exceeding 3% of the total ingredients in the product.

        That brings us back to the definition of "meat"...

        There is a labeling requirements guide [usda.gov], which contained this:

        The Code of Federal Regulations and the Food Standards contain definitions for various food ingredients. Absent a specific FSIS requirement, the appropriate common or usual name as set forth by FDA is appropriate. The Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book may also be consulted for recognized ingredient names.

        I'll research that later (probably not), but I don't expect to find a definition of "lab meat".

  • (Score: 2) by driverless on Monday May 14 2018, @03:54PM

    by driverless (4770) on Monday May 14 2018, @03:54PM (#679606)

    It's meat.

    It's meant, it's not meat, no it is meat, I haven't seen this much beating the meat since I don't know when. You don't need to choke a chicken to play with real meat, or even spank a monkey, whether your meat missile is grown or cultured shouldn't make any difference. No need to be a jerkoff about it.