Test Tube Tissue
April 21, 2008 on 11:51 am | In Main, Oddball |
There’s good news out there for all you vegans who, in actuality, are closet carnivores. PETA is offering a $1 million reward for anyone who can develop a way to manufacture fake meat.
In-vitro meat? It’s an interesting plan, if a bit impractical. Animal cruelty aside, you’d think there would be fewer environmental consequences from producing animal tissue in a test tube than there would be from all the hog, chicken and cattle farms spread across the world.
But any time I read an article about PETA, I’m always struck by how overheated the rhetoric gets from these people. The contest has evidently sparked something of a civil war among PETA members, since many “are repulsed by the thought of eating animal tissue, even if no animals are killed.” Hmmm … I thought one of the tenets of veganism is the cruelty and barbarism in killing animals for human use. So what could be wrong with growing tissue in a tube? No animals suffer and I can still get a cheeseburger at Applebees.
The NYT quoted one PETA member who objected to fake meat as saying, “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.” Then my question is: “Who does have the right to eat animals?”
On more than one occasion I have watched my daughter feed her gecko. She dumps a few crickets into his cage, he spies one, wiggles his tail a bit, and pounces on his meal (although sometimes he misses and gets a mouthful of sand instead). I agree that animals should not be subjected to gratuitous or unnecessary cruelty, but if I go into my backyard and grab a squirrel with my bare hands, doesn’t it become “mine to eat?”
Does PETA argue that animals shouldn’t eat animals either? Indeed you could make a good case that animals are more cruel to each other than we are to them. I once saw an episode on Animal Planet that left me speechless and nearly sick. As soon as a female chimp had finished giving birth, a couple of males snatched the newborn from her and started munching on its tender tissue. It was easily the most barbaric thing I had ever seen and it was performed by animals on each other.
I think the PETA people should listen to a variation of the mantra of abortion rights advocates in the U.S. and become pro choice: “If you don’t like meat, then don’t eat it.”
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Given your subject matter today, asking us to type in an ” anti-spam ” word is pretty damn appropriate.
And I’m not really sure where these PETA people are coming from. I’m sure a lot of them watch Animal Planet. A few times I’ve seen a show on which dogs are at the end of the show rescued. But that’s in the last two or three minutes. The rest of the show shows dogs being horribly treated. I couldn’t watch it. The person who was watching it was someone I worked with. She’s an animal rights activist and was glued to the set. I caught occasional glimpses of the show, but couldn’t stay in the room.
I love animals. I’m a dog person. We treat our dog as well as any pet owners. She’s spoiled and probably eats better than half the kids in Haiti. Does our dog have a right to this treatment? I think not. The word privilege comes to mind though.
Comment by Terrence McCarthy — April 21, 2008 #
Terrence, in Haiti, your dog would *be* dinner. I do feel the same way you do. I am an avowed omnivore (evidence my dinner of stuffed chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans), but I cannot bear to watch the videos that PETA loves to broadcast. I can’t even watch “Animal Cops” on Animal Planet. It makes me cry every time I watch it. Heck, the ASPCA commerical with Sarah McLachlan makes me tear up. I love animals. I love to cuddle with my kitties, and I love my beef medium rare with a nice au jus.
Comment by Amy — April 21, 2008 #
They say if you really want to stop eating meat, then just visit your local slaughterhouse.
I like ham and turkey (sometimes together on one sandwich), so I have managed to avoid slaughterhouses all my life.
Maybe I will see one after I go to that great deli in the sky. But they say slaughterhouses are the closest things to hell on earth you’ve ever seen …
Comment by Terry — April 21, 2008 #
true… some of these slaughterhouses are aweful.. But i am a carnivore. I love meat. I don’t really care if it’s grown in a test tube or fresh from the farm.
you should watch the simpsons episode titled “lisa the vegetarian”.. it will put it into perspective… the secene wwhere the boy gets to visit a slaughterhouse.
Comment by fred — April 22, 2008 #
I love my steak medium rare if you don’t mind. I am more concerned about the wages and living/working conditions of the people picking the tomatoes and lettuce. I am also more concerned about the federal agents that are overworked and understaffed that are asked to inspect our slaughterhouses. When I watch Animal Planet I, too, cry wondering how can anyone be so cruel to an animal.
Comment by Barb — April 22, 2008 #