Comments on: Meat Factory Update

By: Phil Bowermaster

Phil Bowermaster — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:40:10 +0000

Brian –

Good points. PETA may need to dial down the winning criteria or dial up the prize money. I think starting out with chicken is okay — people are used to some pretty non-chicken-like implementations of fried chicken, anyhow (e.g., McNuggets.)

By: back40

back40 — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:24:07 +0000

Well said. It is instrumental, a sly way to get some press with what, on closer analysis, is an empty promise.

No one who is not already soft on the subject, squicked about life, would fail to be very skeptical of PETA and do the work to see through the hustle. Fashion victims.

The techno-vegetarian dream will come true, but not soon, and not due to animal squick. At some point it will just be cheaper and then only wealthy foodies will eat anything, plant or animal, that has ever lived.

By: advancednano

advancednano — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:06:30 +0000

The PETA prize will not motivate anything unless they change the terms. My name has a link to my article about it.

The prize is only awarded if the chicken replacement meat passes a taste test when deep fried. That part is relatively ok. Except that chicken is one of the cheapest meats and so a better target would be beef (but I guess they think tofu beef is sufficient)

But then it has to be commercially selling in 10 US States at competitive prices.

KFC the chain sells $1 million worth of fried chicken in about 5 to 10 minutes. $12.2 billion/year in sales and most of is fried chicken. Even one KFC store averages about $1 million in sales.

10 states, probably at least 50 stores. 2-5% of sales where it got substituted in for the chicken fingers/strips.

All by 2012.

The companies looking at inVitro meat are targeting ground meat first.

If I was going to make invitro meat I would not be adjusting my plans to target fried chicken first for a 1 million prize. There are bigger and better commercial targets and plans.

PETA is grabbing headlines for an ill conceived prize. It shows how little they understand business or the food industry that they want to influence.

By: Stephen Gordon

Stephen Gordon — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:59:07 +0000

I find it fascinating that taking this step has caused a “near civil war” in the PETA organization.

Its not good enough for some of the PETA diehards that “no animal was harmed in the making of this steak.” Eating something that even looks like it came from an animal is just… gross.

Which, I think, explains some of the clueless commercials that PETA airs. They’re not really effective in converting people to vegetarianism or helping animals. They’re as much about making the PETA people feel good about themselves.

Anyway, its good that PETA is getting behind something that could actually work and benefit the world. Its worth the civil war.