Stem Cells: Another Viewpoint

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Frequently the topic of stem cells in medicine generates controversy among people of various political/religious leanings. However, I have been thinking about other uses that stem cells could be good for, and first among them, to me at least, is solving world hunger. If we can grow organs, we can certainly grow meat. And this circumvents the whole animal cruelty issue as we are no longer dealing with animals. The gigantic and polluting industrial meat industry would no longer be necessary. Imagine, a few decades down the line, every home having some kind of biological generator capable of growing meat, or fruit/vegetables out of organic base matter? Self-sufficiency and sustainability need something like this, I think, to be truly effective policies. Any thoughts or criticism are appreciated as usual
-vig

The only issue i can forsee is that mankind is inherently flawed, anything he produces will be subject to that flaw. What if there is some property of grown meat that we are unable to understand? Think mad cow disease, but somehow different.

Other than that, as long as we are not experimenting on human beings, and "beef" stays "beef"- i see no problem. God gave us dominion over the animals, lets get the most use out of them. No hybrids (other than animals that can interbreed), no genetic modification--that spells trouble, or other foolishness like that.

Ersatz ist Ersatz.

I will stick to Spam and processed cheese.

Why would a god give people a substantially powerful brain, and not expect us to use it? GM gets a hard wrap, it was the potential to save the world. Besides, the "don't meddle with that s**t" argument has probably been used since the days of penicillin.

As for Stem Cell meat, it sounds pretty aweful

One word: ChickiNobs.

Exactly
Come to think of it, it would be sweet to be able to culture KFC on a petri dish. It'd be a good incentive for me to pay attention in Microbiology

I do have that concern too, although not for any religious reasons.

I don't think this would be very cost effective if even possible

good plan but America wouldn't allow that to happen because if you can produce your own beef with Stem Cells the beef industry will decrease if not disappear and the government wont stand for that because to them the success of businesses are more importent to them then whats in the best interest of the people

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_meat

is this what you are referring to but on a larger scale?

The idea has been around for 57 years.

See:

A piece of in vitro meat chicken muscle used commercially in the 1953 science fiction novel The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth

ruveyn

even longer than that cuz Winston Churchill mentioned it during WWII

@TheKing: Ah I wasn't aware there was an actual nomenclature for this concept thank you. I don't know if 'In-Vitro Meat' sounds much better then 'Stem Cell Meat' . I think the nascent industry will have to come up with a non-gag reflex name to have early success
@ruveyn: That is interesting that a classic sci-fi era novel would mention such a concept, some people are way ahead of their time, especially many science fiction writers
@thechadmaster: I do worry about possible repercussions of genetically modified organisms. I wonder if a prion based disease could be a possible result of culturing muscle/fat tissue; I am fairly certain this happens mostly due to consuming brain matter. I suspect long years of trials will be required to ensure product quality. There is also a small issue I have with the whole concept, in that the culture would invariably need to be exposed to growth hormone, which could down the line lead to cancer in consumers of said meat that were exposed to it. So there are likely many issues that need to be resolved, but I think the benefits would be worth it in the end
I also like the idea of growing fruit, vegetables or other foods in such a manner. This could really save us in the long run on land use, as we could eliminate many problems associated with large-scale agriculture; and also this could lead to mass re-forestation which I think most people will agree is a good thing. I almost see it as an inevitability that will rival the neolithic agricultural revolution in importance for all of us

They're already doing this but its not ready for commercial production or consumption. A scientist had made strips of flesh with a bio-printer (amazing use of inkjet printer tech to 'build' tissue cell by cell) using cells grown from stem cell cultures. Give it 10 or so years

To clarify a little - it isn't stem cells per se that are in question morally; it's their source. Adult stem cells are no problem. (There's no controversy about them so there's little-to-no mention of them in the media.) It's when the stem cells are taken from an aborted embryo that there's trouble. That said, the concept of stem-cell-meat still sounds awful. (Again, ChickiNobs. Look 'em up.) I can't help wondering how it would *taste* - there's more that goes into the meat on your plate than simple growth. The feed, the enviroment...which is often appallingly poor in slaughterhouses, but still better than nothing at all.

Can i just point that it is not GM itself which gets a hard wrap but it is the company Monsanto which is using them to push an agenda. They insist on lots of pesticides and herbicides which are hazardous to human health, destroys the soil quality, runs off into rivers, kills bees which we need to pollinate crops and future yields.

So in the long term it is not sustainable. GM could be implemented effectively but only if it was used in organic style farming practices.

A collection of links i have saved and more available if needed, since i can contact the guy who i got these from.

"DANGERS FROM EATING GM FOOD

The Health Risks of GM Foods: Summary and Debate:
...http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/ ... /index.cfm

GM crops regularly yield less than high yielding non-GM crops, use more harmful herbicides and are harmful to human health and the environment. The seeds are patented and they are promoted to make money for corporations while being based on dubious science.

There are far superior non-GM options to feeding the world, it is only corporate propaganda that claims GM crops are necessary, good unbiased agricultural scientists have serious concerns about them.

Here is a significant amount of data on GM crops as well as non-GM solutions (please circulate widely):

GM Crops Increase Pesticide Use (referenced document):
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/GMCIPU.php

‘Network of Concerned Farmers’ - Australia
http://www.non-gm-farmers.com/

Canadian family farmers are calling for a moratorium on GM crops, see http://www.nfu.ca/gmfood-ban.htm

“GM Crops Failed” - Institute of Science in Society
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/GMcropsfailed.php

New study exposes great GM crop myth- http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/20/8405/

Change in farming can feed the world- (400 experts reject GM as solution to poverty/hunger)
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/16/8327/

Study: GM Bt cotton fails small scale farmers in South Africa
http://grain.org/seedling/?id=330.

"Non-GM Breakthroughs leave GM behind"
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/NonGMLeaveGMBehind.php

12 Reasons for Africa to reject GM crops Visit:
http://www.grain.org/seedling/?id=294

World Scientists Statement:

World Scientists Statement: http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/world-cn.htm "

1) Here is something else: “Iowa State University project shows yields of organic corn and soybeans equal or exceed conventional production while producing twice the revenue”
http://www.non-gmoreport.com/articles/f ... tional.php

2) Organic farming ‘could feed Africa’

“Traditional practices increase yield by 128 per cent in east Africa, says UN”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 68641.html

THOUSANDS OF FARMERS IN INDIA COMMIT SUICIDE DUE TO SWITCHING TO INSECT RESISTANT GM Bt COTTON:
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/farmersSuicides ... nIndia.php

AND:
Success Stories Of Organic Farming In India
http://generalissimo.org/kt44/success-s ... g-in-india

AND:
Scientists Find Organic Agriculture Can Feed the World and More:
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/organicagricult ... eworld.php"

Organic Living And The Environment expert Melissa Kidd (Soil Association Information Officer):

Is organic farming more sustainable than other types of farming?
Organic farming is more sustainable than other types of farming and this is due to the fact that we are not relying on chemicals that are very energy hungry. Natural gas is the main component of nitrogen fertiliser, used in non-organic farming, and it requires a lot of energy to make that fertiliser. In addition, energy is involved in transporting the fertiliser from where it was made to the farm. Whereas, organic farms use crop rotation, compost, and manure which is produced on the farm in a sustainable way. From that point of view, organic farming is much more sustainable.
Furthermore, in terms of pest control and disease control, organic farmers use crop rotation so you don't build up larger populations of pathogens and disease-causing microbes. Non-organic farmers will use chemicals to sort those problems out, but that generally will be a short term, unsustainable solution.
Watch the video:
http://www.videojug.com/expertanswer/or ... of-farming

FURTHERMORE:

GM crops are failing: Union of Concerned Scientists report: "Failure to Yield".
http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agricult ... yield.html

EDIT

a MASSIVE list of Monsanto's crimes
http://bestmeal.info/food/monsanto.shtml#1901