Have you ever heard of meat, actual meat, that does not come from an animal? Well, it exists, and according to the New York Times, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants it to take over the food world.
The animal rights group has offered a $1 million reward for the “first person to come up with a method to produce commercially viable quantities of in vitro meat at competitive prices by 2012.”
In vitro meat is the laboratory-grown meat substance based on stem cells taken from live animals. it’s been around for a few years, but so far scientists haven’t found a way to make its mass-production economically viable.
The attraction to PETA is obvious: Get lab-grown meat main-streamed and you reduce the amount of animals getting slaughtered for actual meat. But according to the Times, the move caused something of a schism in the PETA office.
Lisa Lange, a vice president of the organization, said she was part of the heated exchange. “My main concern is, as the largest animal rights organization in the world, it’s our job to introduce the philosophy and hammer it home that animals are not ours to eat.” Ms. Lange added, “I remember saying I would be much more comfortable promoting eating roadkill.”
Our question: Could in vitro pork or something like that be considered Kosher? While it would technically stem from a pig, the meat you would eat wouldn’t actually have ever been part of the pig. Well, until that question becomes at all necessary, the folks at Boing Boing found a much more entertaining diatribe on the Kosher-ness of imaginary animals. Looks like few make the list.
PETA’s Latest Tactic: $1 Million for Fake Meat [NY Times]
In Vitro Meat [NYTimes]
Evil Monkey’s Guide to Kosher Imaginary Animals [Ecstatic Days]
Photo: Andreyphoto.com [Flickr]
