Diamonds Are Forever, But Cows Aren’t
A burger made from Cultured Beef
If you’re going to kill cows for beef, there probably isn’t a huge ethical issue with using their hides for leather shoes, car seats, furniture, or whatever. But what happens when the consumption of beef falls precipitously? This is almost certain to happen, due to a variety of causes, e.g., human health, environmental stewardship, or animal cruelty–all coupled with plant-based meats like the Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat that are almost indistinguishable from slaughtered cows.
The answer could be leather, made from the same collagen protein, but which doesn’t derive from animals as described in this video, which, interestingly, is now becoming possible via a process very much like the foods described above.
Will this be a quick and easy transition? Absolutely not, especially given the sensibilities of Trump supporters lots of folks, an example is as follows:
We’re not going to stop eating cows. Cows are meant to be farmed for milk, meat and their hide. Deal with it. You’re not entitled to control the diet of others. People online can try all they want to turn others vegan but it just makes them look pretentious and snobby. Eat your veggies and don’t mind my plate ya weirdos.
A few points for this cretin:
To say cows are “meant” to be farmed is like saying “horses are meant to be ridden,” or “Owls are meant to eat mice.” We ride horses and owls eat mice, but there is no commandment that ordains some sort of ultimate purpose for the animals of Earth.
No one wants to control your diet. Do whatever you like. You will notice over time that your position will become less popular, but you’re welcome to it as long as you wish.
People of kindness and decency will always appear pretentious and snobby, as well as weak, maudlin, etc. to people like you; it comes with the territory.
Craig,
What’s happening here ? Someone describes crusading, pushy vegan fanatic’s as ‘weirdos’, so you call him a ‘cretin ‘ ! (difficult to equate with “kindness and decency”)
How did this escalating circle of rage begin ? When did we begin to believe we’re not responsible for our own conduct, but justify our actions by saying ” it’s not our fault, someone else made us behave badly” ?
As I have written previously, I wish you well with your synthetic protein substitute. If you like mixing up a bunch of dubious chemically enhanced ingredients and eating the results., that’s entirely your business.
But for the 90+ % of us who don’t care to eat these concoctions, all we ask is for you stop evangelizing and attacking our preferences with spurious and ill-conceived arguements.
The Beef industry will be just fine, and here’s a few points to consider.
1) The Dairy industry shows no sign of abating, in fact the demand for milk (especially baby formula0 is increasing, as are cheese, yogurt and other dairy products.
2) No one who can afford fine leather will accept some bizarre synthetic substitute.
3) The demand for Beef products is increasing. There are other uses for beef than hamburger patties. The market for steak is undergoing a boom, especially finer cuts.
Ribs, Roasts, Chops (especially veal) are all enjoying a revival in demand. Even offal and old fashioned cattle products such as Corned beef,tongue,kidney, liver, ox tail (Osso Bucco) and tripe are becoming fashionable again with younger consumers. Beef jerky, beef biltong, thin sliced preserved beef (Carpaccio), etc are nowadays big business and hugely popular. There are literally billions of beef pies and sausages sold annually.
Even the 70’s favorite, ‘Steak Tartare” ( finely chopped raw beef served cold with a raw egg) has made comeback in expensive restaurants, especially in Asia. Blood pudding and blood sausage have found new markets with fashionable young chefs.
Meg Ryan’s famous ‘orgasm’ movie scene set in New York’s legendary Katz’s Deli, another diner says, “I’ll have what she’s having” ! What she was eating, was a pastrami sandwich! What would New York be without Beef Pastrami, eh ?
In some markets cow hearts are much in demand, while bull testes,(prairie oysters, or Rocky Mountain oysters) even sweetbreads (pancreas and thymus ) have a devoted following of eager consumers.
The list of non-edible food product produced from cattle ranges from explosives to collagen, literally thousands of different industrial uses.
What should also be remembered is Beef constitutes more than 40% of the global Pet Food supply. The planet has 3-4 billion carnivorous pets ! (no, cat’s can’t be vegans)
Beef, is the complete protein with 20% or more of the daily value of Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, iron, phosphorus and zinc. Beef is the largest dietary ingredient, carnitine and creatinine.
A gourmet Kobe or Wagyu steak can cost as much as $4000, while in good restaurants from Shanghai to New York standard prices range from $600 to $2000 for a single steak.
At famous selected restaurants like Fabrice Vulin’s Michelin-two-star restaurant Caprice in Hong Kong, or Chef Pierre Négrevergne’s La Terrace Mirabeau in Paris, expect to pay (if you can yet a table) $4-5000 for a 2000 vintage cote de boeuf (rib steak) from exclusive butcher, Alexandre Polmard’s ‘Boucherie Polmard’ in Saint Mihiel.
If you are fortunate to be allowed to purchase a prime rib from ‘Boucherie Polmard’ to take home, (there’s a 2 year waiting list) it could set you back $ 3400 !
The world has about 1.5 billion cattle reared annually for beef production (not including 300 million in India, or Dairy herds).
Although beef consumption slumped in the US between 2006 and 2014, since 2015 the US Department of Agriculture reports the beef industry has experienced steady growth and is selling more beef per capita than any time in 100 years. (about 28.4 billion pounds).
Considering all the above, your prediction of doom for the cattle industry in favour of chemically manufactured imitations, seems a just little far fetched !
But, as I say, good luck eating your MSG enhanced dinner, I wish you ‘Bon Appétit’ !