Non-sentient lab meat is not yet a reality for widespread human consumption, and growing a steak with longer strands of tissue presents greater difficulties than simulating ground meat. But the wheels are already in motion — witness the In Vitro Meat Consortium, In Vitro Meat Foundation, this FutureFood.org article, and researchers at universities and labs around the world.
An easier, more efficient and eventually perhaps more palatable route would be to flavor vegetable-based matter with the texture of meat, like a much-improved version of today’s seitan steaks and tofu dogs, according to Tucker.
“I think we’ll reach a flavoring threshold where stuff really does have the taste and texture of meat, but it’s not meat-based,” said Tucker, who conceded a personal fondness for one of man and nature’s most resource-inefficient forms of protein: the cow. Non-sentient meat would consume less water and resources than actual cows, he said, but algae or vegetable matter plus flavoring, manufactured by who else but the artificial flavoring capital of the world (the United States), holds more promise (more on that to come).Judging by the Vegan fare featured at local markets, I'd say they're doing a great job of duplicating the eating experience of various meats and poultry. Take chicken for example.
Chicken has little flavor of its own. It's usually eaten with breading or a sauce that lends its own flavor to the meat. There are several soy products that duplicate the consistency and texture of chicken and are complemented by those same toppings and sauces.
Given a choice, would you prefer a slab of brainless meat, or something that's made with soy beans that gives you a comparable eating experience ?
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