I’m Isha Datar, director of New Harvest – the non-profit largely responsible for advancing “cultured meat.” I was at the first ever cultured beef burger tasting in London this past Monday – AMA!

ishadatar · 2013-08-12T06:52:19-07:00

Could you make different flavors of meat?

midnitewarrior · 2013-08-12T07:42:43-07:00

I watched the broadcast of the tasting, and I was sorely disappointed in the demonstration they gave.

They had 1 burger to do this with, and they didn't season it, they didn't put it IN the bun, no condiments, NOTHING.

Then, they asked everybody how it tasted. The consensus seemed to be that it didn't really taste great. Who eats unseasoned ~~meat~~ hamburger meat? Who would even know what this is supposed to taste like? No salt or pepper? Of course they aren't going to be thrilled with it. If unseasoned ~~meat~~ hamburger meat tasted great, people wouldn't bother seasoning it. I think one of the tasters said something like he didn't really know what unseasoned meat was supposed to taste like.

The other problem I had with it, was that there was no unseasoned animal meat to use for comparison.

I thought it was a waste of a huge opportunity and it didn't really show the best side of this technology. Considering the high cost of this burger sample, I thought it was a poorly thought out demonstration.

Thoughts?

runnerdood · 2013-08-12T06:39:33-07:00

Why did Sergey Brin (co-founder of Google) decide to invest in this project?

sv21js · 2013-08-12T07:22:50-07:00

Once the cells are taken that are going to be cultured to create the meat can you continue to use them indefinitely, or do you need to take new animal cells periodically?

gburgdan · 2013-08-12T07:34:41-07:00

Is this technology being used to facilitate new tissue growth for humans?

Decker108 · 2013-08-12T07:49:23-07:00

What's the shelf life of this meat?

ishadatar · 2013-08-12T07:33:35-07:00

So it's not vegan in the sense that it still uses real animal muscle tissue. But how animal friendly is it otherwise? Is there any animal byproduct in there? How humane is it?

DaSquige · 2013-08-12T06:59:02-07:00

Hello, I read an article in The Week yesterday about your impressive achievement. However it cited a few critics who participated in your taste test, and said that your product did not cook well because of its lack of fat. They (harshly) described it as grey and a little gross, if my memory serves. They also cited its lack of iron, do you have any comments on these criticisms, or plans to address them before your product hits the markets?

Thank you!

rotor_head · 2013-08-12T06:41:24-07:00

Can't believe nobody asked this yet! What did it taste like?

Sacrifice_Pawn · 2013-08-12T07:20:47-07:00

How does the energy/resource demand of cultured meat compare to industrial farming techniques?

jokes_on_you · 2013-08-12T07:23:29-07:00

As I understand, you use bovine serum (or another similar animal product) in the media for the cultured meat. Have y'all been making steps towards using media that is 100% non-animal sources? Or is that further down the road? This would be crucial for vegetarians.

That_Film_Guy · 2013-08-12T07:54:33-07:00

Would you be interested in having me make a documentary on this subject to potentially fast-track the "open-mindedness"?

veertamizhan · 2013-08-12T07:32:08-07:00

how much time will it take for the meat to be available at the local supermarket? and will it be cheap?

jexopolis · 2013-08-12T06:50:59-07:00

It seems some people are really open-minded and say "cool" where others say "that seems so gross." How do you combat the folks who are close minded or think cultured meat is "evil"—like a next step from GMOs and Monsanto, etc ...

avsa · 2013-08-12T09:25:30-07:00

Since you stated that the process could be used on any animal, I suppose its technically possible to grow human meat. Would you ever consider it or do you think society wouldn't be ready for the ethical debate? Would you eat your own meat?

mtn_mojo · 2013-08-12T08:23:32-07:00

Have you considered targeting the fitness community as a source of enthusiasm/help? People spend thousands of dollars on protein supplements, which are generally just dried whey/casein/soy powder. The profit margins must be staggering on stuff like that.

The idea of easily available, ready-to-eat pure protein is very exciting, and I'm positive that people who are trying to add more to their diet in the form of powders would be even more excited about another source of pure "clean" animal protein!

Guustaaf · 2013-08-12T08:39:44-07:00

I've read that cultured chicken meat is harder to produce than beef for example, why is that?
I've also read that the cultured beef was white, and had to be coloured with beet juice to make it look more appealing, do you know how this will be fixed and how hard that will be?
Where does the mass of the meat come from? When cultured meat is produced in much larger quantities, I imagine it needs to 'grow' from some kind of 'food', because you can't make something from nothing, what do you think this 'food' will be?

Sorry if the answers to these are already available in some paper, I bet they are, but I'm lazy :). Also super proud that this all originated in my home town btw.

louis_my_lord · 2013-08-12T06:32:21-07:00

How long until this hits shelves in supermarkets?

Salacious- · 2013-08-12T06:40:09-07:00

Which endangered species would you really want to eat?

^meat ^grown ⁱⁿ ^a ^lab, ^of ^course!

barneygale · 2013-08-12T06:58:04-07:00

Does in vitro meat have any selling points beyond being environmentally friendly? Is it easier to cook, more versatile in recipes, etc?

To be clear I fully support it for its green credentials. I'm just curious how limited its appeal might be to folks who don't care about that.

midnitewarrior · 2013-08-12T07:53:27-07:00

One of the things that I noticed in the broadcast of the tasting was the emphasis on the production of 100% cultured meat products. I think this is a mistake.

Consumer acceptance of a blended product would probably be much higher than a 100% cultured product for an initial product roll out. The great thing about a blended product is that it overcomes one of the shortcomings of this technology - the inability to grow fat (I know they are working on it). Animal fat is cheap and can be blended with cultured product to get a product on-par with traditional hamburger meat.

The other advantage they would have is preservation of texture. Creating a blended product (regular hamburger / cultured protien / animal fat) can benefit from the familiar texture of regular hamburger meat.

I think a 100% complete cultured product is a great long-term goal, especially for acceptance from vegetarians, but it will be years before this pure product can get to market. Creating a blend that supermarkets can use to supplement their existing burger grind can get this product into the shopping carts of consumers much more quickly.

If they can get the price to have an advantage over traditional beef, consumers will be curious to try the product.

Thoughts?

VanBurenOG · 2013-08-12T08:25:22-07:00

So where are these scientists at with the bacon situation?

Intheweeds4now · 2013-08-12T06:45:43-07:00

After all the experimentation, do you believe it's a viable source for meat in the future ?

salsawood · 2013-08-12T08:28:36-07:00

As someone in the aerospace industry, the potential for this to be used in long-duration space flight is really exciting. Have you considered contacting NASA about this?

How was this burger produced? I understand that the meat was grown from stem cells, but hamburgers aren't naturally occuring cuts of bovine meat...was there many different cuts grown from stem cells that were then put through a meat grinder, like a traditional hamburger?

cautiousman · 2013-08-12T07:38:50-07:00

Hey Isha, thanks a lot for doing this. I'm a huge supporter of cultured meat but I don't really know how to help. What can the average person do to help make cultured meat easily accessible in the not too distant future?

wernermuende · 2013-08-12T06:50:54-07:00

-Can you elaborate what measures you are taking to avoid using FCS and how these attempts compare.

-Can you estimate when fat cells will enter the picture?

-What do you expectfrom hardcore vegan consumers? How many vegans will actually eat this stuff?

-Will it be possible to actually grow bigger pieces with natural consistency but unnatural shapes ? like 1 kg cube shaped beef...

TalkingBackAgain · 2013-08-12T07:59:11-07:00

How long before your product is in restaurants and, in texture and taste, undistinguishable from the real thing?

Also, at what point after the first consumption of the product do you typically expect us to die from horrible diseases?

helpfulsmeagol · 2013-08-12T08:32:55-07:00

Were you inspired by science fictional accounts of synthetic meat in your choice of careers, or your choice to participate in this project?

[deleted] · 2013-08-12T09:54:48-07:00

I'm not a scientist, so I'm not really familiar with how certain diseases are transmitted, but are there concerns about safety regarding the protein itself?

For example, it's possible to get vCJD by eating prions, which persist despite cooking. Is it possible for there to be a "cultured meat Mad Cow" outbreak if something goes wrong in development or manufacturing?

Also, could prion-contaminated meat be intentionally produced someday? There is a precedent for terrorists targeting the food supply, and an AQ group had contemplated poisoning food before deciding to blow up planes. Given the deadliness and lack of treatment options for prion diseases (and the extreme difficulty of detecting contaminated meat), is it a concern that cultured meat technology could someday be used in terrorist plots?

penis_sound_wave · 2013-08-12T10:40:03-07:00

Were you tempted to prank people during the taste test by having a seizure and screaming "I shouldn't have played god!" or something?

bloomcnd · 2013-08-12T07:58:13-07:00

What are the predictions regarding jobs lost in the farming industry compared to jobs created with new "meat labs" (or however you call the new production facilities)?

BTW, I am really looking forward to trying your meat and think it is a fantastic way to fight bad farming practices!

ilikescarlet · 2013-08-12T07:02:38-07:00

Do you think people will be able to grow their own meat similar to how we grow our own veg? Obviously this would be a long way down the line, just wondering if you think it's possible?

schifosa · 2013-08-12T08:48:25-07:00

I'm surprised no one has really asked this yet, but is it healthy? I'm guessing there's no way to tell if it is good for our bodies long-term but I am personally worried about all the processed food we are eating becoming a health factor later in life.

designgoddess · 2013-08-12T08:55:47-07:00

Can you figure out a way to add fat to the meat?

EvilLittleCar · 2013-08-12T09:12:32-07:00

So who got to taste the burger? Was it good? Did it have a different flavor?

steppingrazor1220 · 2013-08-12T10:35:42-07:00

Will cultured pork be considered Kosher?

Kami7 · 2013-08-12T10:51:39-07:00

do you have any studies that look into long term effects of lap grown meat. Does it provide the same nutrition a cow produces by eating natural foods.

Rrrrrrr777 · 2013-08-12T07:58:38-07:00

Are you aware of the debate regarding whether or not cultured meat would be considered kosher, or if it would be considered meat at all by religious standards? Do you have any opinions on that?

TheFost · 2013-08-12T07:58:45-07:00

What are the main barriers to mass production and what unit price will your cultured meat sell for if it is mass produced?

CLint_FLicker · 2013-08-12T08:25:21-07:00

How stringent are the checks for other cell contamination / changes in the cells? Cell media has antibiotics and all that to prevent bacterial/fungal growth, but how do you check to make sure that the stem cells havent differentiated into other cell types? I'd imagine it might be hard to keep all the cell stocks uniformly.

[deleted] · 2013-08-12T08:29:37-07:00

Are they able to control the fat and micronutrient profile? Create meat with a "perfect ratio" of fats, a better amino acid profile and a full array of vitamins and minerals. That'd be awesome if they could.

Skeldave · 2013-08-12T08:58:08-07:00

I was wondering whether the meat is actually 100% meat, or does it contain any sort of artificial additives like most foods do these days?

K-guy · 2013-08-12T09:08:30-07:00

Do you hope one day for there to be at a section in the meat isle labelled 'cultured meat'?

Aug	SEP	Jul
	03
2013	2014	2017

Date	Time	Person	Description
3 Sep	11am	Area 51 Tattoo	Cast of Epic Ink
3 Sep	1pm	Cherie Priest	Author
3 Sep	1:30pm	Rick Edwards	Presenter, FREE SPEECH on BBC
3 Sep	3pm	Liz Garbus	writer / director
3 Sep	4pm	Eryk Kowalczyk AKA Xilent	Producer, DJ
3 Sep	4pm	Amy Levin	Founder and creative director of College Fashionista
4 Sep	10:30am	Kristin Beck	Former US Navy Seal
4 Sep	11am	Ian Bairnson, David Paton and Stuart Tosh	Members of The Alan Parsons Project and the band PILOT
4 Sep	12pm	Kim Harrison & Richard Kadrey	Authors
4 Sep	12:30pm	Victoria Taylor	Victoria from reddit
4 Sep	2pm	Jesse Carmichael and Mickey Madden	Members of Maroon 5
4 Sep	3pm	Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant	Stuff You Should Know
4 Sep	4:30pm	Homeboy Sandman	Rapper & musician
4 Sep	6pm	Kulap Vilaysack	Actress, comedian, and writer
4 Sep	6:30pm	Sarah Chalke and Jay Chandrasekhar	Actors
5 Sep	10am	Steven Petrow	Advice columnist for the Washington Post
5 Sep	12pm	Volunteer at the 9/11 Tribute Center	9/11 Tribute Center
5 Sep	12pm	Lenny Kravitz	Musician / actor
5 Sep	2pm	Denzel Washington	Actor
8 Sep	2:30pm	Katrina vanden Heuvel	Editor, publisher
8 Sep	3pm	A. R. Torre	Author
9 Sep	11:30am	David M. Ewalt	Journalist. and Author
9 Sep	1pm	Mathew Burrows	National Intelligence Council
9 Sep	3pm	Dave Steer & Chris Riley	Mozilla
9 Sep	3pm	Delta Spirit	Indie rock band
9 Sep	5pm	Michael Cera & Kieran Culkin	Actors
10 Sep	3pm	Nicholas McCarthy	AT THE DEVIL’S DOOR writer/director
10 Sep	5pm	Christian Rudder	Writer, musician and entrepreneur

IAmA

Follow us on Twitter! @reddit_AMA | Please check out our Rules and FAQs

Please note:

AMAs should be about:

All AMAs require proof.

Request threads

Useful Links!

Upcoming AMAs

MODERATORS

interface language	(*) incomplete volunteer to translate

IAmA

Follow us on Twitter! @reddit_AMA | Please check out our Rules and FAQs

Please note:

AMAs should be about:

All AMAs require proof.

Request threads

Useful Links!

Upcoming AMAs

MODERATORS

you'll need to login or register to do that

create a new account

privacy philosophy

login