Hello everybody, this is The Jungle blog,
So in 2020, Singapore was the first country to approve the legal sale of stem cell meats. The company selling it is an American startup called Eat Just’s- and will open one of the largest plants to produce lab grown meat in Asia. They also sell egg and meat substitutes. Right now they’re using the meat for chicken nuggets, which will sell for fifty dollars. In the 2010’s the first lab grown hamburger sold for 250,000 dollars, so this meat is much cheaper. Over time the price will go down even more. Two of the largest groups trying to bring stem cell meat to the market include Future Meat Technologies, which is based in Israel, and Memphis Meats. In Singapore, a company called Shiok Meats is working on lab grown crustacean meat. The Singapore Food Agency reviewed the data for Eat Just’s manufacturing control and safety testing. They made a statement saying that the products were ‘found to be safe for consumption at the intended levels of use…’ and they put a ‘regulatory framework for novel food’ to meet safety standards before being sold.
Singaporeans are more open minded about trying lab grown meat because of a cultural trait known as ‘kiasu-ism.’ Part of it is a fear of missing out. But it also involves wanting to project an image of trying new things. Although lab grown meat is only being sold in Singapore, these sales will lead to new startups and competitors, which will eventually lead to approval and sale in other countries.
Currently, making meat in a lab can reduce the amount of animals killed; but doesn’t always reduce it to zero. The process can still be unethical. Stem Cells are able to be found in already born animals, and you only need to harvest from a few, since the stem cells of a single animal can hypothetically feed every human on the planet. The animal isn’t killed. However, the stem cells need to be cultured and grown. Typically, you grow the stem cells using something called ‘animal serum.’ You can also grow them using drugs, or genetic modification, but this is expensive, and may be rejected by consumers. Animal serum is usually made from blood that comes from embryos which are flushed out of cows being sent to slaughter. The ethical issues here range from death, exploitation, and a lack of reproductive freedom.
A man from The National University of Singapore recently led a research team which tested a new method of culturing stem cells using carefully tuned magnetic fields. So far, tests have shown that even ten minute exposures release molecules that have ‘regenerative, metabolic, anti-inflammatory, and immunity boosting properties.’ If this method was sufficiently developed, we could culture stem cells without killing any animals, and it would be cheaper too. If we can culture stem cells like this, even being able to create meat, imagine the applications such a technology will have on medicine.
Don’t assume just because a product uses technology that it’s unsafe. Over the years, stem cell technology will be improved, tested, and will need approval from teams of scientists who have spent years being trained on what to watch out for. Typically, if something is dangerous, we scope it out using empirical evidence. Observations and existing knowledge helps us narrow down what we’re looking for. This is better than just guessing, which is what you’d be doing if you are willing to accept all the technology we have nowadays; like the internet, antibiotics, cars, and airplanes; but then reject other technologies out of hand. Selectively breeding animals is unnatural too, and it changes them at the genetic level. It just does so more slowly.
Some people may be uncomfortable with all this technology. Generations tend to either be on the spectrum of fetishizing nature, or fetishizing technology, each variant a reaction to their parents. One generation likes formula and tang, the other likes orange juice (which is the product of countless unnatural processes.) For example, there are those that realize vegan and vegetarian diets don’t need to be healthy, they just need to be ethical. But previous generations of activists had to plan their diets from scratch, back when vegetarianism was rare, and there were less options. Now, many have different attitudes. We have more information, and more options. That tangent aside, others might be skeptical of new claims. Over the years many farms have tried to ‘humane wash’ what they do, or claim that their meat is ethical. It is always good to temper emotional energy with an attitude of sobriety. On the other hand this is different from the farms that ‘humane-wash’ their products because this will allow us to eliminate the animal farming process completely. Rejecting this method would be to condemn hundreds of billions of animals to suffer and die.
This story is important for two reasons:
First, it shows us that the transition between meat made from killing animals to lab grown meat won’t be instant. It’ll start out imperfect. Not all meats will exist at first. Companies will test the popularity of a few products, before releasing more. The main reason why EVEN companies like Tyson Meats are investing in research for stem cell meat is because they’re anticipating a rise in veganism and vegetarianism. All this shows that this dietary boycott is still necessary and people should be encouraged to adopt it. It is our main tool against animal exploiting industries. It puts pressure on companies, and even as an individual, your actions can cause a difference. Over time, not eating meat, or finding other ways to deprive factory farms of their money, leads to less animals being bred for ‘next quarter.’
Second, it shows that changes could come sooner than we may have originally estimated. This isn’t to paint a rosy, overly optimistic vision for the future. Considering just how bad animals are treated, I never adopt such an attitude for Animal Rights. We don’t know what the future could bring. Things could still go wrong, causing the development of this technology to slow down. But right now rapid advancement is happening, and lab grown meat is being sold this decade. We picture certain changes as only existing in the distant future. But the end of this current phase of animal rights is starting now. We still have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of issues to address. We need sweeping reforms to deal with Factory Farming. We need better funding and enforcement for Animal Welfare regulations. We need to end Animal Experiments; and we don’t achieve change by sitting around and waiting for others to act. Institutions don’t act like things are important until we do. We can make a difference as individuals. We need to form groups, do protests, and information campaigns… There are all sorts of ways to participate.
People are conditioned to think that they can’t really affect anything politically. Our votes merely hold the line, but don’t really create meaningful policy change. Politicians do the opposite of what the majority of people want. People don’t control anything so when they’re required to make an important decision on behalf of the country, they’re not up to the task. Even though we are a Republic in name, people don’t see any of what democracy is about, and you can’t value something you have no experience with. But democracy isn’t just about voting. It’s about Universal Civic Participation. Things like writing, speaking, protests, groups, money (power coupons,) universal education, etc. If the goal of democracy is to have a population that deeply participates in its civic issues, then what does that say about our country? The political system itself is a means, not an end. But it’s the best system we have. All that is to say that any person can start a group themselves, even if it’s three or four people, or even just people they know. You can go door to door in your neighborhood or apartment complex, pass out fliers, schedule a neighborhood meetup/party. People don’t understand this because they aren’t even familiar with their next door neighbors, or the people in their local area. That being said, it’s still better to start small. Because People’s Groups are fluid by nature, you have to keep finding actions to take, or else the group dissolves, even worse, it just turns into a pretentious social club.
The goal of protests is that they’re a form of negotiation when a government isn’t representing its people. They’re pressure campaigns. If authority overreacts to a protest, that’s beneficial, because it presents a certain image on the news. The other goal is to court attention at all costs. A TV ad can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Publicity is free. It doesn’t matter if you’re hated. What matters is if people are talking about you, and at the end of the day, swing to your side (whether enthusiastically, or reluctantly.)
Currently in America, Vegans and Vegetarians combined make up a total of ten percent of the population. The bigger this number grows, the faster it can increase. If we accomplish enough, we can pass the torch to the next generation. Once Vegans and Vegetarians make up twenty-five percent of the population, and sixty percent of Americans approve of basic Animal Rights positions – we can shut down the meat industry permanently. Then, if we can reach this point, we have to brace ourselves for the most painful part – the moment of victory, where we will have to deal with the inevitable entropy and backlash.
Anyways, it’s just a thought, have a good day everybody.