Humane Solution or Franken-meat?

By Anastacia Mott Austin

If you think about it, chicken McNuggets don’t resemble their origins very much.

If you’ve seen Morgan Spurlock’s popular documentary, "Super Size Me," you know that the list of ingredients in those nuggets is impressively long, and one can only guess whether actual chicken is one of them.

So it might not be that much of a leap to go from eating a round, breaded object with an indecipherable list of additives to something similar (but probably less additive-laden) created in a lab.

That’s what the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is hoping.

The organization is sponsoring a controversial contest in which they will award a million dollars to the first person who can create lab-grown chicken meat that is indistinguishable from the meat of a "real" chicken, in marketable quantities.

It’s controversial because some folks are taking exception to the idea of PETA supporting meat consumption at all, even if no animals are killed for it.

Ingrid Newkirk, one of PETA’s founders, spoke to reporters at The New York Times, saying that the decision caused "a near civil war in our office," because so many PETA staffers are opposed to meat consumption in any way. They believe that PETA’s job should be to show the world that eating meat at all is not necessary. Added Newkirk of the disagreement, "We will have members leave us over this."

An international symposium on the topic of creating meat in the laboratory was held last month in Norway, sparking interest in the idea.

The "lab meat" would be created by using animal stem cells to grow muscle tissue in a lab setting.

PETA’s contest stipulates that to win the prize money, the winner must create chicken meat that tastes "just like chicken," and can be made in sufficient amounts to market it successfully, at a competitive price, in at least 10 states, by 2012.

Even for a million bucks, that seems like a daunting task.

Experts point out that it took the FDA five years to approve meat and milk that comes from cloned animals. After a successful production of lab-created chicken meat, the creator would still need to pass through federal regulations to market it, and would have to have some independent funding to get that far.

And there is the challenge of texture. Meat that comes from a (once) live chicken would have a muscle texture from the animal’s activity. Muscle tissue from a petri dish would not have the same consistency. So a certain number of texturizers, possibly similar to those used to create meat-like quality in vegetarian meatless items - like the infamous Tofurkey – would need to be added.

There are additional challenges presented by the contest as well. For one thing, the taste-test to decide whether it does indeed taste just like chicken will be conducted by PETA staff members. (Think about that for a minute).

In addition, some folks responding to the idea have said that the idea of eating laboratory-created meat is "gross." Right. Because eating the ripped out muscle tissue of a dead animal isn’t gross at all. (I’m just saying…)

Also, if they really want the venture to be a success, a campaign to name the new product might be a good idea. "Lab meat" just doesn’t have the same ear appeal as "juicy sirloin" to most people.

"Frankenfurters" seems too obvious. Bunsen burgers? Test-tube steak? The possibilities are endless.