History Main / ArtificialMeat

Even with all the advances and regulations, the current meat industry is not without its problems. It takes a surprising amount of resources, and some companies cut corners to save on expenses. There's also the ethics issues brought up by animal rights groups. However, meat is so delicious, important and full of protein that it's hard to give up.

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_meat We actually have some ideas right now]]. Basically we take some species' cell culture and grow it into something edible. Since you don't need to raise animals, there's no question of inhumane treatment because what you've eaten never had a brain, hence why meat produced in this procedure is also known as "slaughter free meat". It likely isn't nearly as ecologically impacting given that the meat has far fewer bodily functions to maintain, also reducing the resource cost.

* ''Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand'' by Creator/SamuelRDelany has vat grown meat cultures from humans.

* In ''Literature/{{Feed}}'', during part 3 Titus and Violet visit a Filet Mignon farm. The meat is grown in the same way as plants are, complete with a maze made out of beef. There is also mention of mutations in the growing process, creating things like hearts, eyes and horns in the meat.

* In the short story ''Alone With Gandhari'' by Gord Sellar, there's a genetically-engineered 'cow' that's only a headless torso fed by tubes.

* ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'': During the time of Enterprise, replicators have yet to be created. Instead they use "protein resequencers" which are implied to be a really high tech 3D printer (an evolution of current real life methods of producing artificial meat).

* In ''Webcomic/{{Spacetrawler}}'', one early manifestation of [[BloodKnight Emily]] and [[AnimalWrongsGroup Pierrot]]'s BelligerentSexualTension is their recurring argument over whether synthetic steak is compliant with Pierrot's ethics-based vegetarianism, since no animals were harmed.

* [[{{Squick}} Tumor beef]], another amazing invention of Jobe Wilkins in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse. So what if it is carcinogenic, hard to eat and of little nutritional value? The United Nations sanctioned Jobe (yet again) for this. Not his home country of Karedonia, not the country he sold the cows to, but ''Jobe himself'' (oops, I mean ''[[GenderBender her]]''[[GenderBender self]]).

* In an episode of [[Series/FutureFood Future]] [[http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/future-food/ Food]] Chefs Omar Cantu and Ben Roche play around with making artificial meat out of the food that we feed animals to make them tasty. Grain and beets and soy and other ingredients are made into artificial beef and chicken.

* When UsefulNotes/KentuckyFriedChicken began to promote itself as "KFC", rumors soon circulated that "the government" was making them do this because supposedly its "meat" was too far removed from real chicken. In reality, the word they were trying to distance themselves from was ''Fried'', and the growing negative connotations around the word, not to mention the fact that they ''do'' sell grilled chicken as well.

* In ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'', artificial meat is common. [[https://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/482658e6099f6 An entire article]] is dedicated to the history and current methods of making artificial meat. Examples include [[https://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/4648ea2855b5a deliplants]] (plants that grow meat fruit) and [[https://www.orionsarm.com/eg-article/49774cb7dce0e meatshrooms]] (meat mushrooms). However, they subvert the hell out of the "more humane" aspect, because in some places the same process is used to make tiny living things (often humanoid) with just enough intelligence to run away before the customer grabs and devours them.

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_meat We actually have some ideas right now]]. Basically we take some species' cell culture and grow it into something edible. Since you don't need to raise animals, there's no question of inhumane treatment because what you've eaten never had a brain, hence why meat produced in this procedure is also known as "cruelty free meat". It likely isn't nearly as ecologically impacting given that the meat has far fewer bodily functions to maintain, also reducing the resource cost.

* Klingon Commander Kern frowns on the Federation practice of eating artificial meats when he comes onboard the Enterprise on ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''.

* In ''Series/TheExpanse'' vat-grown meat is consumed, although even the most premium vat-grown meat isn't quite as good as the real thing.
* In ''Series/MannAndMachine'', Eve mentions that hot dogs haven't technically counted as meat since 1995.

* By the time ''Literature/XandriCorelel'' takes place, most species eat meat grown this way.

->''“I sold the ‘Ultimate Leader and Champion of the People for Life’ a strain of COWS that could feed on what they laughingly refer to as grass in that part of Hell’s back porch! So that he could feed his PEOPLE! They were on the brink of starvation! I should be getting a humanitarian award, not sanctions!”''
->''“Jobe, the beef was cancerous! It grew in huge malformed TUMORS that they cut off and sold to their people as beef!”''
->''“Of COURSE! I designed it that way! How else could those cows produce that much meat in time to prevent mass die-offs from starvation?”''
->''“Jobe, you had those people eating cancers!”''
->''“So, it tasted a little off...”''
->''“JOBE, it was CARCINOGENIC!”''
-->-- ''' [[RoyalBrat Jobe]] [[GenderBender Anne]] [[EmperorScientist Wilkins]]''' to '''[[BigGood Headmistress Carson]]''', ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', "Saks and Violence"[[http://whateleyacademy.net/index.php/original-timeline/357-saks-and-violence]]

'''Note:''' [[FridgeHorror When you stop to think about it]], one of the more {{Squick}}y implications of this is that you can get humanely cultivated flesh [[SapientEatSapient of sapient beings]].

* In ''Literature/OrionsArm'', artificial meat is common. However, they subvert the hell out of the "more humane" aspect, because in some places the same process is used to make tiny living things (often humanoid) with just enough intelligence to run away before the customer grabs and devours them.

* StarTrekEnterprise: During the time of Enterprise, replicators have yet to be created. Instead they use "protein resequencers" which are implied to be a really high tech 3D printer (an evolution of current real life methods of producing artificial meat).

* Taken to it's nightmarish extent in ''Film/{{Antiviral}}'', where celebrity-obsessed culture has created demand for artificial steaks [[HumanResources grown from the flesh]] of the Hollywood elite's cells.

* The Beef Vat improvement in VideoGame/{{Civilization}}: Call to Power. A future age improvement that prevents starvation.

* Creator/LarryNiven's Draco Tavern story "Assimilating Our Culture, That's What They're Doing!" not only features meat cultures grown from humans, but the aliens growing the human meat paid lavish royalties to the human cell donors -- who were ''still'' upset about it.

* When UsefulNotes/KentuckyFriedChicken began to promote itself as "KFC", rumors soon circulated that "the government" was making them do this because supposedly its "meat" was too far removed from real chicken. In reality, the word they were trying to remove from the name was ''Fried'', and the growing negative connotations around the word, not to mention the fact that they ''do'' sell grilled chicken as well.

* When UsefulNotes/KentuckyFriedChicken began to promote itself as "KFC", rumors soon circulated that "the government" was making them do this because supposedly its "meat" was too far removed from real chicken.

* Creator/LarryNiven's "Assimilating Our Culture, That's What They're Doing!" not only features meat cultures grown from humans, but the aliens growing the human meat paid lavish royalties to the human cell donors -- who were ''still'' upset about it.