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Where's the Beef?: The lab-grown-meat revolution that wasn't

75 points · 166 comments · Hooke

  1. Balgair · · focus · HN ↗
    Man, I'm so glad I don't trade stocks.

    I was so convinced that these meatless meats were going to be the next big thing.

    One thing I think they missed out on was getting to 'close enough' and 'much cheaper' and then just pivoting.

    Like, why stay with simulating the 5 or so animals we harvest? Just go off and make up new ones!

    Like, here's a jackalope burger, or a unicorn burger or something. Tie into marketing!

    "Exclusive to BurgerKing, the Iron Man 5 burger! Now through August 29th only!"

    Put in some strange spices, vary the texture, give it a red and gold swirl, let the imagination run wild.

    Can you imagine what business a Spiderman burger patty or sausage link would do? K-Pop demon hunters branded chicken-ish nugget like things?

    1. EliRivers · · focus · HN ↗
      It was going to be celebrity meat. As in, genetically identical to celebrities. In some circles, it would become de rigueur to host dinner parties at which one served meat cultured from the people throwing the dinner party. I wanted to see that future.
      1. shagie · · focus · HN ↗

            I sampled some of Li’s unusual dish while he continued. “I had the ship take a few cells from a variety of people on Earth. Without their knowledge, of course.” He waved the sword vaguely at the table behind us. “Most of you over there will be eating either Stewed Idi Amin or General Pinochet Chilli Con Carne; here in the centre we have a combination of General Stroessner Meat Balls and Richard Nixon Burgers. The rest of you have Ferdinand Marcos Sauté and Shah of Iran Kebabs. ...”

    We ate up, most of us quite amused. One or two thought the idea a little too outré, and some affected boredom because they thought Li needed discouragement not accomplices, while a few were just too full already. But the majority laughed and ate, comparing tastes and textures.

    “If they could see us now,” Roghres giggled. “Cannibals from outer space!”
        The State of the Art by Iain Banks (The Culture) <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;The_State_of_the_Art#Collection_contents" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;The_State_of_the_Art#Collectio...
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