Would I still be considered vegan if I ate cultured meat?

[vegansurveyor]

For people like me, who are vegan for the sake of animal rights, eating a dead animal is not the problem; killing it is. So I am fine with eating lab-grown meat once it arrives on the shelves in my country, and would still considered myself vegan if I did. I imagine many vegans centered on animal rights would think the same way. However, there are people who are vegan for health reasons, and in their view, eating cultured meat would classify me as non-vegan. Do you believe that eating cultured meat would make an otherwise vegan person non-vegan? And if a great number of vegans decide to eat cultured meat, how are we going to deal with the inevitable confusion surrounding the term "vegan"?

 

[silva]

For people like me, who are vegan for the sake of animal rights, eating a dead animal is not the problem; killing it is. So I am fine with eating lab-grown meat once it arrives on the shelves in my country, and would still considered myself vegan if I did. I imagine many vegans centered on animal rights would think the same way. However, there are people who are vegan for health reasons, and in their view, eating cultured meat would classify me as non-vegan. Do you believe that eating cultured meat would make an otherwise vegan person non-vegan? And if a great number of vegans decide to eat cultured meat, how are we going to deal with the inevitable confusion surrounding the term "vegan"?

It actually is about eating meat in general, as we view animals with like respect as we do humans. Do you have the same reasoning for why you don't eat human corpses? Vegans do not eat animal products, whether they've died naturally, or not

The conflict about whether cultured meat is vegan is about how the cells are obtained, not the product itself.

People that are plant based for health shouldn't have any opinion of whether it's vegan, but wouldn't eat it because it's unhealthy!

There are real dairy ice creams out there that are technically the same as dairy, produced in a lab. They have nothing to do with animals, but are the same as dairy, and yes, they are vegan

 

[vegansurveyor]

The conflict about whether cultured meat is vegan is about how the cells are obtained, not the product itself.

That's a good point that I hadn't considered. From what I understand, the cells have to be extracted once (as in, once ever, not once per batch of meat produced) from a small biopsy that doesn't cause the animal any suffering (please correct me if it does), or (in one product's case) from an animal's discarded umbilical cord. If I understand correctly, you say that I wouldn't be a vegan if I ate cultured meat specifically because it comes from animals, irrespective of whether animals were harmed in making it.

So I wouldn't be called vegan, but if I were to eat cultured meat, what would I be called?

 

[Danielle]

I'd be sorta skeptical about it, if any animals were harmed during the process. I don't think there is a word for it, but it's more ethical than buying factory farmed meat.

 

[vegansurveyor]

There should be a word for people who are willing to eat lab-grown products, I think. Perhaps "cultivarian", from the root word culture?

 

[silva]

That's a good point that I hadn't considered. From what I understand, the cells have to be extracted once (as in, once ever, not once per batch of meat produced) from a small biopsy that doesn't cause the animal any suffering (please correct me if it does), or (in one product's case) from an animal's discarded umbilical cord. If I understand correctly, you say that I wouldn't be a vegan if I ate cultured meat specifically because it comes from animals, irrespective of whether animals were harmed in making it.

So I wouldn't be called vegan, but if I were to eat cultured meat, what would I be called?

No! It would be vegan to my standards. There have been debates about it though, and some vegans that are more all or nothing have issue with the process.
Look at the bottom of this page for more threads about it

For so many people raised on meat it's still a craving, and the comparison of extracting a few cells from a few animals with the intention of diverting people from eating millions of animals--I'm all for it.
Look at the impact non dairy milks have made? Or Beyond and Impossible?
I swear once the prices of those burgers come down beef burgers will be losing the market!

I haven't looked at the whole process of lab grown meat,but afaik, it's vegan
I really want it for my cats

Cultured meat price plummeting

Singapore restaurant "1880" has made cultured chicken ("vat grown" chicken) a regular menu item. $23 meal price is affordable to upscale consumers: Singapore Restaurant is First to Add Lab-Grown Chicken to the Menu | I avoid speculating, but it seems like manufacturing scale-up will...

www.veganforum.org

 

[silva]

Now it's getting serious--

The USDA Just Invested $10 Million in Lab-Grown Meat

The USDA awarded $10 million to Tufts University to establish the National Institute for Cellular Agriculture to research lab-grown meat.

vegnews.com

 

[Emma JC]

I, personally, have no interest in eating lab grown meat for lots of reasons and the discussion above made me wonder.... how would you feel about eating meat if it was grown from human cells, voluntarily given? ... if that is a problem for you then eating it from any animal should make you feel the same?

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[silva]

I, personally, have no interest in eating lab grown meat for lots of reasons and the discussion above made me wonder.... how would you feel about eating meat if it was grown from human cells, voluntarily given? ... if that is a problem for you then eating it from any animal should make you feel the same?

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

Soylent Green was probably my first thought to stop eating meat, and not because the thought of eating people bothered me, but the hypocrisy. I couldn't get any answers on why we didn't eat people, or animals, that died naturally. Putting the dead in boxes in the grown just seemed crazy to me. Breeding animals to kill to eat seemed crazy to me. All the dead just wasted while new lives are sacrificed. That's bizarre.
For me, I don't want meat of any kind. I remember the chicken I ate without knowing, and the bile that erupted in my throat as I spit into a napkin. Nope. But no, it wouldn't matter where the cells came from, as far as I'm concerned. Maybe my own cells?

 

[Jamie in Chile]

cultivarian meh not so sure, personally I think there are too many terms. Just go with vegetarian, vegan or plant based.

I think lab meat could be argued to be not vegan, but you should be OK to call yourself vegan if you eat it.

 

[PTree15]

I, personally, have no interest in eating lab grown meat for lots of reasons and the discussion above made me wonder.... how would you feel about eating meat if it was grown from human cells, voluntarily given? ... if that is a problem for you then eating it from any animal should make you feel the same?

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

I have no interest in eating it, either. The thought grosses me out. That said, if it could end animal suffering, that would be great. Whether it's vegan is another question. I mean, animal cells have to be used to create the lab meat, I would guess. So I'm not sure I like that idea, as it still commodifies animals, though in a less cruel way.

 

[Lou]

My 2¢

I think you would still be vegan.
However I think there is fertile ground for a debate on what the meat would be called. can you call it vegan meat?
this is the same issue that surrounds the lab grown dairy protein.

BTW, someday I plan on trying both lab grown meat and lab grown ice cream. But I doubt I will make it a habit. I may not have ethical concerns as much as I have sustainability concerns.

Oh! and I just read that they are planning on making lab grown coffee too.

 

[silva]

My 2¢

I think you would still be vegan.
However I think there is fertile ground for a debate on what the meat would be called. can you call it vegan meat?
this is the same issue that surrounds the lab grown dairy protein.

BTW, someday I plan on trying both lab grown meat and lab grown ice cream. But I doubt I will make it a habit. I may not have ethical concerns as much as I have sustainability concerns.

Oh! and I just read that they are planning on making lab grown coffee too.

So lets just get a replicator already!

But really, if lab grown meat would make an impact I'd consider it as vegan as I do medications
But ewwwww
But cats!

 

[Second Summer]

Lab grown meat can not be considered vegan. It's great if it's cruelty free, but it's still not vegan as it would be biologically indistinguishable from meat from living animals. And meat can never be vegan, simply by definition. (For the record, I'm saying this as someone who is vegan primarily for ethical reasons.)

Whether it's ethical and whether you should still call yourself 'vegan' if you decide to consume such products are different questions. Some foods can still be considered ethically sound even if they're not vegan. And there's a difference between vegan products and products that a vegan person might use.

Also, consider this: You're at a restaurant and you opt for a dish with their finest lab meat. A few days later you read a news article saying lots of supposed lab meat recently sold in restaurants are in reality real meat, which is still cheaper to produce, and is therefore a great way for criminals to make a quick buck.

How can we distinguish between ethical and unethical meat when they're biologically indistinguishable? Do we just trust the seller? Is that a sensible strategy?

 

[silva]

Lab grown meat can not be considered vegan. It's great if it's cruelty free, but it's still not vegan as it would be biologically indistinguishable from meat from living animals. And meat can never be vegan, simply by definition. (For the record, I'm saying this as someone who is vegan primarily for ethical reasons.)

Whether it's ethical and whether you should still call yourself 'vegan' if you decide to consume such products are different questions. Some foods can still be considered ethically sound even if they're not vegan. And there's a difference between vegan products and products that a vegan person might use.

Also, consider this: You're at a restaurant and you opt for a dish with their finest lab meat. A few days later you read a news article saying lots of supposed lab meat recently sold in restaurants are in reality real meat, which is still cheaper to produce, and is therefore a great way for criminals to make a quick buck.

How can we distinguish between ethical and unethical meat when they're biologically indistinguishable? Do we just trust the seller? Is that a sensible strategy?

Well...........you could make the argument of swapping vegan things out for animal based foods for all kinds of foods. There are many lawsuits concerning swaps

Brave Robot is real dairy--genetically the same, but not from any animal. It's able to say it's both vegan and dairy
I really surprised myself that I have no interest in trying it. I was a big ice cream fan, and they have flavors I'd like. The thought of dairy, with or without the cow, just lost it's appeal

 

[Jamie in Chile]

Also, consider this: You're at a restaurant and you opt for a dish with their finest lab meat. A few days later you read a news article saying lots of supposed lab meat recently sold in restaurants are in reality real meat, which is still cheaper to produce, and is therefore a great way for criminals to make a quick buck.

How can we distinguish between ethical and unethical meat when they're biologically indistinguishable? Do we just trust the seller? Is that a sensible strategy?

Interesting point.

I think I´m still in favour of cultivated meat because it should probably cause >99% less suffering/death/infringement on animal liberties. If you can get an improvement of >99% it might be worth compromising on abolitionist ethics for the greater good.

Environmental impact would be better as well. If cultivated meat becomes widespread in this or the next decade it could be a help with climate change.

 

[Symbiosis]

People that are plant based for health shouldn't have any opinion of whether it's vegan, but wouldn't eat it because it's unhealthy!

I don't eat animals for both health and ethics since 2009.

I wouldn't eat it because meat is suboptimal when compared to nuts and it is unhealthy because it's missing all the vitamins and micronutrients to prevent atherosclerosis.

beta carotene atherosclerosis - Google Search

 

[shyvas]

How can we distinguish between ethical and unethical meat when they're biologically indistinguishable? Do we just trust the seller? Is that a sensible strategy?

Do you remember the horse meat scandal in the UK? People were horrified that they had consumed horse meat instead of beef.

 

[Second Summer]

Well...........you could make the argument of swapping vegan things out for animal based foods for all kinds of foods. There are many lawsuits concerning swaps

Do you remember the horse meat scandal in the UK? People were horrified that they had consumed horse meat instead of beef.

Absolutely. To be clear, the risk of swaps is more a side-concern. My main point is that animal products, lab made or not, should never be considered vegan. That's not what vegan means. Donald Watson would be rolling in his grave.

 

[shyvas]

Absolutely. To be clear, the risk of swaps is more a side-concern. My main point is that animal products, lab made or not, should never be considered vegan. That's not what vegan means. Donald Watson would be rolling in his grave.

I totally agree and think that these kind of products are destined for omnis and not veg*ns