In Vitro Meat, Snakes
As a vegetarian, I've been thinking a lot about the case for in vitro meat.
Essentially, this is grown meat that was never a part of an animal in the first place. So no animal had to be killed to make use of the steak - it's meat grown on trees (sort of). Unless you are an anti-stem cell person. I guess. But even then, you best be a vegetarian anti-stem cell person to take issue with this.
Anyway, I was curious as to how old-guard vegetarians (like my mom) would react. Surprisingly enough, she seemed down to eat in vitro meat.
One thing is strange though. I think it was on Tyler Cowen's blog - though it is too late at night/early in the morning to remember right now - that I was reading an interesting perspective on this. Consider the life of a milk cow versus a steak cow. The steak cow roams free for X years, and then is promptly executed. But during those X years, it nicely roams the pastures and lives ok. The milk cow - though - well - just picture what a milk cow endures to make sure her udders are always full. Safe to say, while both are alive, the milk cow endures a more painful life, no? So the argument that Cowen (I believe) was putting forth went as follows. Imagine somehow that in vitro meat does become feasible and comes on the market, replacing slaughtered meat. Now you have a bunch of cows on farms that cannot be killed - but certainly, more cows now can be milked. It would work like an increase in a factor of production of milk, so more milk would start to be produced, and more cows would be milked. So a bunch of these cows, that would have lived happy for X years now live unhappily for X+Y years. So, sure, the cow lives longer - but probably is unhappier all the while.
I guess that makes a case for veganism > meat eating > vegetarianism without veganism.
I have to say, I did enjoy Snakes on a Plane. It was surprisingly funny in that over-the-top, cheesy, mocking-the-action-genre way. What I find a little strange, however, is that despite how popular it has become on the blog-o-sphere, it is more or less tanking at the box office. I believe that one factor is that the target market for SoaP was more or less bloggers. But this demographic is also the most likely to watch pirated movies in the first place. Of course, that would hardly be the only factor - mediocre reviews certainly contribute, and the gore/horror genre is not very big in the first place.
Essentially, this is grown meat that was never a part of an animal in the first place. So no animal had to be killed to make use of the steak - it's meat grown on trees (sort of). Unless you are an anti-stem cell person. I guess. But even then, you best be a vegetarian anti-stem cell person to take issue with this.
Anyway, I was curious as to how old-guard vegetarians (like my mom) would react. Surprisingly enough, she seemed down to eat in vitro meat.
One thing is strange though. I think it was on Tyler Cowen's blog - though it is too late at night/early in the morning to remember right now - that I was reading an interesting perspective on this. Consider the life of a milk cow versus a steak cow. The steak cow roams free for X years, and then is promptly executed. But during those X years, it nicely roams the pastures and lives ok. The milk cow - though - well - just picture what a milk cow endures to make sure her udders are always full. Safe to say, while both are alive, the milk cow endures a more painful life, no? So the argument that Cowen (I believe) was putting forth went as follows. Imagine somehow that in vitro meat does become feasible and comes on the market, replacing slaughtered meat. Now you have a bunch of cows on farms that cannot be killed - but certainly, more cows now can be milked. It would work like an increase in a factor of production of milk, so more milk would start to be produced, and more cows would be milked. So a bunch of these cows, that would have lived happy for X years now live unhappily for X+Y years. So, sure, the cow lives longer - but probably is unhappier all the while.
I guess that makes a case for veganism > meat eating > vegetarianism without veganism.
I have to say, I did enjoy Snakes on a Plane. It was surprisingly funny in that over-the-top, cheesy, mocking-the-action-genre way. What I find a little strange, however, is that despite how popular it has become on the blog-o-sphere, it is more or less tanking at the box office. I believe that one factor is that the target market for SoaP was more or less bloggers. But this demographic is also the most likely to watch pirated movies in the first place. Of course, that would hardly be the only factor - mediocre reviews certainly contribute, and the gore/horror genre is not very big in the first place.
posted by arun at 10:34 AM
2 Comments:
Interesting point. Something I've always wondered about is -- if I have two years of a shitty life, is that better than one year of an okay life? Like, does shittiness multiply? Or is it just lack of quality that multiplies?
Cows dont endure pain when being milked. In fact, milking them relieves a burden for them, its neccesary for the cows.
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