Would You Eat A Lab-Grown Steak? | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

Would You Eat A Lab-Grown Steak?

What if that steak was exactly the same, atom by atom, as one from a fancy restaurant?

23
Would You Eat A Lab-Grown Steak?
Popular Science

Let's imagine for a second that science has progressed enough that we are able to create/construct all types of food in a lab. To clarify, I'm not talking about an upgrade to tofu or a GMO version 2.0, I'm talking about actually building a steak on a molecular level as if you were using LEGOs. For example, here is a regular steak that you could get in today's world:

And here is what our hypothetical, futuristic, lab-grown steak would look like:

Like I said, they would be identical. But would you eat it? And even if you did try it once, would you then be willing to replace all of your food with a lab-constructed variant? It's fun to look at this as a simple question wherein you base your decision on how adventurous you see yourself, but a cost-effective invention like this would actually be a major overhaul to our entire food industry with unavoidable repercussions. Think about it, if we start constructing our own food then we would no longer need to maintain any livestock, which would in turn free up an enormous amount of farmland, causing many farmers to lose their jobs. And that's just if we were able to make our own meat, but what if we could make our own anything?

Most of the food we eat is simply made up of a bunch of common molecules such as water, sugars, proteins and fatty acids. And even then, those molecules are just made up of a particular combination of different atoms. This means that we could potentially take a few different atoms to follow a recipe that would allow us to make our own molecules, then we could take those molecules and make a salad or a hamburger or a glass of milk; the possibilities are endless!

And while all of this sounds a bit far fetched, it really isn't too hard to imagine. For example, if you wanted to print out that picture of the steak from before, you would send that picture to your printer, which analyzes the picture and copies it line by line, pixel by pixel, only using the three basic colors red, blue and yellow. And voila, you have a picture of a steak. The next logical step was 3D-printing, which functions in much the same way as a regular printer, just in one extra dimension. So all we would need now is a really small 3D-printer. This idea is theoretically possible through a field of science called nanotechnology, which has to deal with the manipulation of atoms and molecules. With nano-tech, scientists would basically be using a really small 3D-printer to print out whatever type of object they wanted to, even food.

Imagine a world without supermarkets or restaurants, only a place where people could shop for cartridges of Carbon or Hydrogen for their nano printers at home. But back to that main question: would you eat that steak? I certainly would.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Entertainment

Every Girl Needs To Listen To 'She Used To Be Mine' By Sara Bareilles

These powerful lyrics remind us how much good is inside each of us and that sometimes we are too blinded by our imperfections to see the other side of the coin, to see all of that good.

131286
Every Girl Needs To Listen To 'She Used To Be Mine' By Sara Bareilles

The song was sent to me late in the middle of the night. I was still awake enough to plug in my headphones and listen to it immediately. I always did this when my best friend sent me songs, never wasting a moment. She had sent a message with this one too, telling me it reminded her so much of both of us and what we have each been through in the past couple of months.

Keep Reading...Show less
Zodiac wheel with signs and symbols surrounding a central sun against a starry sky.

What's your sign? It's one of the first questions some of us are asked when approached by someone in a bar, at a party or even when having lunch with some of our friends. Astrology, for centuries, has been one of the largest phenomenons out there. There's a reason why many magazines and newspapers have a horoscope page, and there's also a reason why almost every bookstore or library has a section dedicated completely to astrology. Many of us could just be curious about why some of us act differently than others and whom we will get along with best, and others may just want to see if their sign does, in fact, match their personality.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

20 Song Lyrics To Put A Spring Into Your Instagram Captions

"On an island in the sun, We'll be playing and having fun"

30251
Person in front of neon musical instruments; glowing red and white lights.
Photo by Spencer Imbrock on Unsplash

Whenever I post a picture to Instagram, it takes me so long to come up with a caption. I want to be funny, clever, cute and direct all at the same time. It can be frustrating! So I just look for some online. I really like to find a song lyric that goes with my picture, I just feel like it gives the picture a certain vibe.

Here's a list of song lyrics that can go with any picture you want to post!

Keep Reading...Show less
Chalk drawing of scales weighing "good" and "bad" on a blackboard.
WP content

Being a good person does not depend on your religion or status in life, your race or skin color, political views or culture. It depends on how good you treat others.

We are all born to do something great. Whether that be to grow up and become a doctor and save the lives of thousands of people, run a marathon, win the Noble Peace Prize, or be the greatest mother or father for your own future children one day. Regardless, we are all born with a purpose. But in between birth and death lies a path that life paves for us; a path that we must fill with something that gives our lives meaning.

Keep Reading...Show less
Health and Wellness

10 Hygiene Tips For All College Athletes

College athletes, it's time we talk about sports hygiene.

27832
Woman doing pull-ups on bars with sun shining behind her.

I got a request to talk about college athletes hygiene so here it is.

College athletes, I get it, you are busy! From class, to morning workouts, to study table, to practice, and more. But that does not excuse the fact that your hygiene comes first! Here are some tips when it comes to taking care of your self.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments