Winter, Lisa. “Will Stem Cell Burgers Go Mainstream?” iflscience.com. N.p., 21 May 2014. Web. 2 June 2013. http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/will-stem-cell-burgers-go-mainstream
“Schmeat,” a lab-grown meat product, is currently being developed in an attempt to reduce the harmful effects livestock creates on the environment. This product is different from vegetable-based meat substitute because it is made from actual animal stem cells. The schmeat is grown in sheets and is reported to have a less than desirable flavor; antibiotics and fats must be added to the schmeat for it to taste good. I think this schmeat development touches on several significant environmental issues. If this meat substitute would be accepted by society it would reduce the amount of food, water, land, and energy that goes into raising livestock and would reduce the methane being released by the livestock as well. Also, animal rights issues and the fair treatment of animals would also be addressed and the need for inhumane treatment of animals would be reduced.
I do think this schmeat product would have to have a major marketing campaign that doesn’t highlight that it’s grown in sheets (the word schmeat doesn’t really sound appetizing either). I think from an environmental standpoint there’s a lot that can be benefited from this development, but there’s also the problem of the schmeat needing to be altered and grown with fillers, additives and byproducts; the schmeat could easily become just another unhealthy food product that might have unhealthy side effects in the long run. This product does remind me of a slight utopian mentality with the belief that schmeat will become the standard protein product and meat will become obsolete, but there’s also a connotation that meat will become even more valuable if this schmeat product gains mass appeal. As far as the environmental impact goes, if schmeat is accepted into society there’s the problem of actually producing this product in large quantities which could harm the environment just as much as raising livestock would.
