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Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World
Paul Shapiro gives you a front-row seat for the wild story of the race to create and commercialize cleaner, safer, sustainable meat—real meat—without the animals. From the entrepreneurial visionaries to the scientists’ workshops to the big business boardrooms—Shapiro details that quest for clean meat and other animal products and examines the debate raging around it.Since the dawn of Homo sapiens some quarter million years ago, animals have satiated our species’ desire for meat. But with a growing global population and demand for meat, eggs, dairy, leather, and more, raising such massive numbers of farm animals is woefully inefficient and takes an enormous toll on the planet, public health, and certainly the animals themselves. But what if we could have our meat and eat it, too? The next great scientific revolution is underway—discovering new ways to create enough food for the world’s ever-growing, ever-hungry population. Enter clean meat—real, actual meat grown (or brewed!) from animal cells—as well as other clean foods that ditch animal cells altogether and are simply built from the molecule up. Also called lab-grown meat, cultured meat, or cell-based meat, this race promises promise to bring about another domestication. Whereas our ancestors domesticated wild animals into livestock, today we’re beginning to domesticate their cells, leaving the animals out of the equation. From one single cell of a cow, you could feed an entire village. And the story of this coming “second domestication” is anything but tame.
271 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 2, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews
December 27, 2017
A fantastically well-told and important story about the history of the future. Highly recommend!
February 18, 2018
I am incredibly excited about the future of clean meat. Unfortunately this book is the opposite of exciting. It is repetitive, disjointed, lacking overall narrative and feels 10x longer than it needs to be. The content that there is, is sometimes interesting, but like the cultured meat that is the book’s topic, this one is overpriced and not yet viable. Maybe there is just not yet enough of a story to tell.
January 20, 2018
Really repetitive. Should have been an article, not a 240-page book. The author's hard-on for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists was very off-putting.
February 11, 2019
Incredibly bad book on an important subject. The book reiterates the same PR points over and over.
It does not talk about the most important point at all: nutrition. Only talks about physical characteristics like taste, smell, mouth feel of artificial meats. But nutrition is the only thing which matters. The book even says that government regulation could be an obstacle; but think about it: why would the FDA ban bad tasting food - it would not, what counts are effects on people, the signals this food would send to our genome.
Even if the meat is safe, is it any good? Meat is much more than just protein or filling. Meat cooked on the bone (stew, soups) is important source of collagen, amino acids etc. The book says “it is the same” and then says there is no blood or fat in the artificial meat. What? Meats effects on our lipid system (human fat circulation) are important. Humans would not be here without the easily digestable and nutritious value of animal meats. But none of it exists in artificial meats?
Clean meat IS the future but we need much better understanding before we can eat it. Honestly, right now the book read like it was written by big meat producers - full of promises of great tasting burgers without ANY talk about substance or harder things.
It does not talk about the most important point at all: nutrition. Only talks about physical characteristics like taste, smell, mouth feel of artificial meats. But nutrition is the only thing which matters. The book even says that government regulation could be an obstacle; but think about it: why would the FDA ban bad tasting food - it would not, what counts are effects on people, the signals this food would send to our genome.
Even if the meat is safe, is it any good? Meat is much more than just protein or filling. Meat cooked on the bone (stew, soups) is important source of collagen, amino acids etc. The book says “it is the same” and then says there is no blood or fat in the artificial meat. What? Meats effects on our lipid system (human fat circulation) are important. Humans would not be here without the easily digestable and nutritious value of animal meats. But none of it exists in artificial meats?
Clean meat IS the future but we need much better understanding before we can eat it. Honestly, right now the book read like it was written by big meat producers - full of promises of great tasting burgers without ANY talk about substance or harder things.
January 9, 2018
Very VERY INTERESTING
Wow, had no idea that the raising of farm animals is so detrimental for our environment, more so than automobiles. Going down I-5, between North and South, California, there is miles of cattle, slopping in mud up to their bellies, the smell, is unbearable, you can taste it. (Not to mention the poor animals) We need to do away with this, and thank goodness, it is now in our future!!!! Evidently Churchill, in his genius, foresaw this as a must in our future. This book talks about just how much land, water, feed, etc. it takes to put meat on our table. It is amazing, very thought provoking. I learned a lot.
Wow, had no idea that the raising of farm animals is so detrimental for our environment, more so than automobiles. Going down I-5, between North and South, California, there is miles of cattle, slopping in mud up to their bellies, the smell, is unbearable, you can taste it. (Not to mention the poor animals) We need to do away with this, and thank goodness, it is now in our future!!!! Evidently Churchill, in his genius, foresaw this as a must in our future. This book talks about just how much land, water, feed, etc. it takes to put meat on our table. It is amazing, very thought provoking. I learned a lot.
March 19, 2022
Most literate adults today know there is something seriously broken with our modern meat industry. The manner in which billions of animals are bred, confined, and slaughtered in a concentrated, industrial fashion has enabled people to eat more animal products more cheaply than ever before—but with the consequence of environmental crises, antibiotic resistance, and animal cruelty, among many other negatives. So, that’s when we break out another human strength—the ability to live with cognitive dissonance.
Does it really have to be this way?
This is a book about the effort to create cell-cultured or "clean" meat--that is, food products that are identical in every way to animal-derived meat, but without the need to slaughter animals. The pioneers of cultured meat noted that skin-and muscle-growing technology was already in use in the medical and research sectors and asked the question if it could be applied to the food industry at a scale that could compete with, and maybe even replace, the factory farmed-stuff on the commodity meat market.
On one hand, it seems like a moon-shot proposal. There are a lot of hurdles that still need to be overcome, and some remain quite formidable. At the same time, humanity is constantly advancing though technological leaps. The Industrial Revolution, the automobile, and the Internet all necessitated considerable changes in the structure of society. Yet we can't imagine what life without such things would even be like today.
Change has happened with major animal use industries as well. Once, not so long ago, whaling powered and lit the industrialized world. Whale oil was considered indispensable, and the great whales were driven to the brink of extinction. For even longer, horses were our sole form of transportation, and our cities were full of cart-pulling equines who often led merciless, short lives. Factory farming as we know it today is itself essentially a product of the past 50 years, a result of the drive of food corporations to raise more animals in less space as cheaply and efficiently as possible.
Indeed, in this animal-loving age of puppy kindergartens and cat cafes, we humans paradoxically subject more animals to more unrelieved suffering than at any other point in human history.
Yet it is often pointed out that people eat animal foods in spite of, not because of, the cruelty. The near-universal exclamation of “don’t tell/show me that!” arises out of the consumer’s knowledge that they aren’t going to like what they hear and it’s going to raise disquieting feelings. If they didn’t care at all, they wouldn’t react in this fashion. Wouldn't it be better if we didn't have such a fraught relationship with our food choices that even speaking honestly about their source and production causes distress, disgust, and anger?
[There are people, and probably more than most animal advocates would like to admit, who truly relish the idea of animals being killed for their meals. If clean meat were to ever replace factory-farmed meat, they'll keep doing their thing, but they'll have to put in the effort to hunt or patronize small farms and artisanal butchers; this setup would still result in many billions fewer animals suffering.]
The book points out that perhaps we need to get away from exploiting particular animals on a daily basis before we can really start caring about them. This indeed seemed to be the case for whales and horses. In addition, you’ll find fewer people ready to defend the use of animals in circuses, for fur fashion, and in cosmetics testing these days, now that these practices thankfully seem to be fading out.
After this book was published, cultured dairy--created from cows' milk proteins that are grown without the use of cows--became the first animal-free animal product to hit the market, in the form of the ice cream brand Brave Robot. I do occasionally eat this ice cream, and I also still eat plant-based ice creams made from coconut, almond, etc. milk.
Many vegetarians and vegans, myself included, aren't as keen on eating cultured animal muscle, even if it is totally cruelty-free. But, as this book pointed out, it's not for us--it's for the 90%-plus of humanity that currently does and wishes to continue consuming animal foods, and is a way to allow people to continue their preferences without all of the destructive side effects. At the very least, I would think animal advocates should want this technology to feed the many carnivorous pets whose nutritional requirements are presently filled by the byproducts of the industrial slaughter system.
[Note: In the years since this book was published, allegations have emerged that the author has himself not always behaved ethically. This review is of the ideas and concepts presented in the book, not of the author’s individual merits.]
Does it really have to be this way?
This is a book about the effort to create cell-cultured or "clean" meat--that is, food products that are identical in every way to animal-derived meat, but without the need to slaughter animals. The pioneers of cultured meat noted that skin-and muscle-growing technology was already in use in the medical and research sectors and asked the question if it could be applied to the food industry at a scale that could compete with, and maybe even replace, the factory farmed-stuff on the commodity meat market.
On one hand, it seems like a moon-shot proposal. There are a lot of hurdles that still need to be overcome, and some remain quite formidable. At the same time, humanity is constantly advancing though technological leaps. The Industrial Revolution, the automobile, and the Internet all necessitated considerable changes in the structure of society. Yet we can't imagine what life without such things would even be like today.
Change has happened with major animal use industries as well. Once, not so long ago, whaling powered and lit the industrialized world. Whale oil was considered indispensable, and the great whales were driven to the brink of extinction. For even longer, horses were our sole form of transportation, and our cities were full of cart-pulling equines who often led merciless, short lives. Factory farming as we know it today is itself essentially a product of the past 50 years, a result of the drive of food corporations to raise more animals in less space as cheaply and efficiently as possible.
Indeed, in this animal-loving age of puppy kindergartens and cat cafes, we humans paradoxically subject more animals to more unrelieved suffering than at any other point in human history.
Yet it is often pointed out that people eat animal foods in spite of, not because of, the cruelty. The near-universal exclamation of “don’t tell/show me that!” arises out of the consumer’s knowledge that they aren’t going to like what they hear and it’s going to raise disquieting feelings. If they didn’t care at all, they wouldn’t react in this fashion. Wouldn't it be better if we didn't have such a fraught relationship with our food choices that even speaking honestly about their source and production causes distress, disgust, and anger?
[There are people, and probably more than most animal advocates would like to admit, who truly relish the idea of animals being killed for their meals. If clean meat were to ever replace factory-farmed meat, they'll keep doing their thing, but they'll have to put in the effort to hunt or patronize small farms and artisanal butchers; this setup would still result in many billions fewer animals suffering.]
The book points out that perhaps we need to get away from exploiting particular animals on a daily basis before we can really start caring about them. This indeed seemed to be the case for whales and horses. In addition, you’ll find fewer people ready to defend the use of animals in circuses, for fur fashion, and in cosmetics testing these days, now that these practices thankfully seem to be fading out.
After this book was published, cultured dairy--created from cows' milk proteins that are grown without the use of cows--became the first animal-free animal product to hit the market, in the form of the ice cream brand Brave Robot. I do occasionally eat this ice cream, and I also still eat plant-based ice creams made from coconut, almond, etc. milk.
Many vegetarians and vegans, myself included, aren't as keen on eating cultured animal muscle, even if it is totally cruelty-free. But, as this book pointed out, it's not for us--it's for the 90%-plus of humanity that currently does and wishes to continue consuming animal foods, and is a way to allow people to continue their preferences without all of the destructive side effects. At the very least, I would think animal advocates should want this technology to feed the many carnivorous pets whose nutritional requirements are presently filled by the byproducts of the industrial slaughter system.
[Note: In the years since this book was published, allegations have emerged that the author has himself not always behaved ethically. This review is of the ideas and concepts presented in the book, not of the author’s individual merits.]
December 20, 2018
Growing meat outside of an animal has always seemed like dark magic to me. I wanted to develop my understanding of this rapidly developing field. Agricultural reform is a large part of mitigating climate change, but pushing people to stop eating meat is not going to work. So, just like we are building electric cars that'll be cheaper, faster, and better than those powered by gas—we need to do the same for meat.
The technology to grow tissue artificially is much further along than I thought. It was pioneered in the medical field to grow e.g. livers, and a couple of people in the medical field independently made the observation: "If we're trying to do this for complex human issue, why not for animals and meat?" Especially since a kidney is much more complex than ground beef.
Imagine taking a biopsy from a cow, ladling it with nutritious jelly and mounting it on an artificial skeleton in a sterile environment. That's, grossly simplified, the process. It turns out to work. For the time being, it remains expensive (this is party why some companies are starting upmarket, with e.g. foie gras). It's interesting that depending on the motivation, companies in the space focus on different types of clean meats. For example, those optimizing for animal welfare are starting with chickens. Those most concerned about climate change are attacking artificial beef. There are players all over this space, whether in milk, eggs, chicken, turkey, or narwhals (if we can replicate any flavour, you can eat as much ortolan meat as you want!). The toughest thing is to convince consumers. Everyone in the space knows public acceptance is going to be the largest hurdle, not technology. That's why it needs to be tastier and cheaper first.
An interesting analogy from this book is that we can compare this to how we used to hunt the planet dry from whales for whale fat for lamps. Then, one day, someone figured out to how to extract kerosene from oil and the industry rapidly declined. Today, it'd seem bonkers to us that a beluga would have to die to light your condo. Many of the players in this budding industry think we'll look at animal slaughter the same way in a few decades (not even hipsters are burning whale oil for light!).
Interesting topic, but the big thing I was missing were more in-depth explanations of how all this works. The author is more focused on the business and the stories. Due to the low information density, this was a really quick audiobook on 2x speed without losing much.
The technology to grow tissue artificially is much further along than I thought. It was pioneered in the medical field to grow e.g. livers, and a couple of people in the medical field independently made the observation: "If we're trying to do this for complex human issue, why not for animals and meat?" Especially since a kidney is much more complex than ground beef.
Imagine taking a biopsy from a cow, ladling it with nutritious jelly and mounting it on an artificial skeleton in a sterile environment. That's, grossly simplified, the process. It turns out to work. For the time being, it remains expensive (this is party why some companies are starting upmarket, with e.g. foie gras). It's interesting that depending on the motivation, companies in the space focus on different types of clean meats. For example, those optimizing for animal welfare are starting with chickens. Those most concerned about climate change are attacking artificial beef. There are players all over this space, whether in milk, eggs, chicken, turkey, or narwhals (if we can replicate any flavour, you can eat as much ortolan meat as you want!). The toughest thing is to convince consumers. Everyone in the space knows public acceptance is going to be the largest hurdle, not technology. That's why it needs to be tastier and cheaper first.
An interesting analogy from this book is that we can compare this to how we used to hunt the planet dry from whales for whale fat for lamps. Then, one day, someone figured out to how to extract kerosene from oil and the industry rapidly declined. Today, it'd seem bonkers to us that a beluga would have to die to light your condo. Many of the players in this budding industry think we'll look at animal slaughter the same way in a few decades (not even hipsters are burning whale oil for light!).
Interesting topic, but the big thing I was missing were more in-depth explanations of how all this works. The author is more focused on the business and the stories. Due to the low information density, this was a really quick audiobook on 2x speed without losing much.
August 4, 2021
I just finished Clean Meat, and found it to be a seminal book on the topic of slaughter-free meat.
The author Paul Shapiro’s research is detailed and the writing flows spectacularly well. The book helped me understand the people in the space as well as the companies and the possibilities.
Shapiro mentions that factory farms can lead to a pandemic; this seems especially relevant given that we are currently in a pandemic. Shapiro also points out that the technology of clean meat isn’t as new as we may think—it is similar to that of beer breweries and growing bacteria for yogurt.
In the same way that whale oil and horse carts are a part of the past, it is possible that factory farms will one day be a part of the past. This will be a good thing, given that factory farms ignore animal welfare, as I document in my book Project Animal Farm. Clean meat can be like clean energy in that it offers an alternative to conventional production. The impact on the environment, animals, and human health would be tremendous.
I recommend the book Clean Meat highly for anyone interested in food issues and how the future of food may look!
The author Paul Shapiro’s research is detailed and the writing flows spectacularly well. The book helped me understand the people in the space as well as the companies and the possibilities.
Shapiro mentions that factory farms can lead to a pandemic; this seems especially relevant given that we are currently in a pandemic. Shapiro also points out that the technology of clean meat isn’t as new as we may think—it is similar to that of beer breweries and growing bacteria for yogurt.
In the same way that whale oil and horse carts are a part of the past, it is possible that factory farms will one day be a part of the past. This will be a good thing, given that factory farms ignore animal welfare, as I document in my book Project Animal Farm. Clean meat can be like clean energy in that it offers an alternative to conventional production. The impact on the environment, animals, and human health would be tremendous.
I recommend the book Clean Meat highly for anyone interested in food issues and how the future of food may look!
January 6, 2018
Well written
Superb book about something ain't futurology anymore. The balanced view about humane treatment, animal farm slash industry and customer perception, trend, not necessarily vegan. Breakthrough technologies, totally disruptive.
Superb book about something ain't futurology anymore. The balanced view about humane treatment, animal farm slash industry and customer perception, trend, not necessarily vegan. Breakthrough technologies, totally disruptive.
March 3, 2018
Enjoyed reading this overview of clean meat, which refers to a way to grow cultured meat without needing animals in the process.
These clean meats together with plant-based meat alternatives have the potential to end industrial farming in our lifetimes (over 50 Billion land animals killed in industrial conditions each year)
Quick summary:
- Basically two main types, acellular and cellular
ACELLULAR:
- uses yeast / bacteria with specifically designed genes that grow the resulting material (eg casein protein, gelatin etc)
- the techniques already used for years to mass synthesize insulin, rennet (used in nearly all cheese consumed today)
- the engineered yeast is removed before consumption, so the food can be called GMO free
- Example startups - Perfect Day (dairy), Clara Foods (egg whites), Geltor (gelatin)..
CELLULAR:
- multiplying tissue cells (extracted from a tiny sample from an animal), by feeding it the serum (food containing nutrients) and having it grow on a scaffold
- Cellular serums are being developed that are fully plant based (early work was mostly on animal derived serums)
- Example startups - Memphis Meats (beef etc), Hampton Creek (chicken, foie gras etc), Modern Leadow (leather)
BOTH:
- vastly lower environmental footprint as well as eliminating mass animal suffering
- example, a cow requires 23 calories to deliver just 1 calorie to end consumer of a burger, with cellular that ratio comes down to 3 calories to 1
- costs have been rapidly declining as tech gets better, first burger cost $300,000 now predicted to shortly be at $11 within a few years (more of an engineering than research challenge now)
- expect first commercial products within 3-5 years
- expect to hit price parity with meat within 5-10 years even without any special subsidies
- other benefits over animal source include ability to have it healthier (eg take out cholesterol and lactose from milk, reduce saturated fat in beef etc)
- big players are increasingly invested in the space (Bill Gates, Li Ka Shing, VCs etc) as well as growing investment from the big meat producers (Cargill, Tyson etc)
- significantly cleaner and safer than traditional meat production (which has a lot of problems due to low hygiene of slaughter and processing)
Open question whether plant-based meats will reduce or obviate the need for clean meats by the time they become commercially viable, given their rapid improvements.
In any case it's too risky to just bet only on plant-based meats, so clean meat is a very important plan B for the world's future...
These clean meats together with plant-based meat alternatives have the potential to end industrial farming in our lifetimes (over 50 Billion land animals killed in industrial conditions each year)
Quick summary:
- Basically two main types, acellular and cellular
ACELLULAR:
- uses yeast / bacteria with specifically designed genes that grow the resulting material (eg casein protein, gelatin etc)
- the techniques already used for years to mass synthesize insulin, rennet (used in nearly all cheese consumed today)
- the engineered yeast is removed before consumption, so the food can be called GMO free
- Example startups - Perfect Day (dairy), Clara Foods (egg whites), Geltor (gelatin)..
CELLULAR:
- multiplying tissue cells (extracted from a tiny sample from an animal), by feeding it the serum (food containing nutrients) and having it grow on a scaffold
- Cellular serums are being developed that are fully plant based (early work was mostly on animal derived serums)
- Example startups - Memphis Meats (beef etc), Hampton Creek (chicken, foie gras etc), Modern Leadow (leather)
BOTH:
- vastly lower environmental footprint as well as eliminating mass animal suffering
- example, a cow requires 23 calories to deliver just 1 calorie to end consumer of a burger, with cellular that ratio comes down to 3 calories to 1
- costs have been rapidly declining as tech gets better, first burger cost $300,000 now predicted to shortly be at $11 within a few years (more of an engineering than research challenge now)
- expect first commercial products within 3-5 years
- expect to hit price parity with meat within 5-10 years even without any special subsidies
- other benefits over animal source include ability to have it healthier (eg take out cholesterol and lactose from milk, reduce saturated fat in beef etc)
- big players are increasingly invested in the space (Bill Gates, Li Ka Shing, VCs etc) as well as growing investment from the big meat producers (Cargill, Tyson etc)
- significantly cleaner and safer than traditional meat production (which has a lot of problems due to low hygiene of slaughter and processing)
Open question whether plant-based meats will reduce or obviate the need for clean meats by the time they become commercially viable, given their rapid improvements.
In any case it's too risky to just bet only on plant-based meats, so clean meat is a very important plan B for the world's future...
February 10, 2018
Very engrossing account of the new technologies and companies that can grow meat, milk, leather and other animal products outside of an animal. This promises a future in which, if consumers get on board, farm animal suffering and slaughter by the billions would no longer be necessary, and the environmental degradation caused by livestock greatly alleviated. Even the health hazards of meat would be reduced, as clean meat will be free of antibiotic residues, fecal contamination, and disease producing organisms.
I'd known a little about the culturing of meat but not about leather, milk, egg whites or foie gras. (Foie gras, because it is easier to culture and sells--in its animal version--for something like $100/lb., may be the first of the clean meat products to be marketed.) In the book we meet the innovators who are developing these products and the methods used; I understand much better now what those processes are.
I didn't give five stars here because parts of the book are repetitious, especially the first chapter, and the book lacks an index, which would have increased its usefulness. But I still urge everyone concerned about sustainable, humanely-produced food to read it. It's one of the most hopeful books about the future that I've read in quite awhile.
I'd known a little about the culturing of meat but not about leather, milk, egg whites or foie gras. (Foie gras, because it is easier to culture and sells--in its animal version--for something like $100/lb., may be the first of the clean meat products to be marketed.) In the book we meet the innovators who are developing these products and the methods used; I understand much better now what those processes are.
I didn't give five stars here because parts of the book are repetitious, especially the first chapter, and the book lacks an index, which would have increased its usefulness. But I still urge everyone concerned about sustainable, humanely-produced food to read it. It's one of the most hopeful books about the future that I've read in quite awhile.
January 7, 2018
Really interesting book, making me think a lot on how activist can be effective for animals' sake.
Must-read!
Must-read!
January 22, 2018
An important and eye-opening book about what we eat now, and why we need to be eating something different as soon as possible.
June 20, 2020
Długo zabierałem się do lektury "Czystego mięsa" Paula Shapiro, nawet nie wiem czemu, ale po dotarciu do ostatniej strony stwierdzam, że jest to najlepsza książka, jaką przeczytałem w 2019 roku. Ogrom optymizmu jak z niej wylewa, jest wręcz zaraźliwy. Mięso, mleko, skóra czy żółtka z kurzych jaj, wszystko to da się wyhodować bez udziału zwierząt. Lepsze, zdrowsze i nieszkodzące naszej planecie. Na razie na niewielką skalę, ale z potencjałem w bliskiej przyszłości na upowszechnienie i konkurencję cenową z mięsem z uboju. Same zalety, bez wad, jak nie skorzystać z tego rozwiązania?
February 25, 2018
This book was amazing. It is awesome what science can do for us. As a vegan I am constantly trying to "save the earth" and clean meat can be the next step to what we need to do to help that out! I think it is interesting that people might be turned off by this concept and not jumping up and down to make this happen. No feces, pus, etc....in meat that is grown in a lab! I hope to see this happen on a large scale within a few years. This can change the world, save the animals, and maybe make people a bit healthier with meat that isn't as bad for you!
I'm glad that Paul wrote this book and I hope it becomes more and more popular so people can see that there are options out there with the advancement of science.
I'm glad that Paul wrote this book and I hope it becomes more and more popular so people can see that there are options out there with the advancement of science.
February 11, 2018
On the idea alone, 5 stars. And the first couple chapters are probably 4 stars. But then the book falls apart; it becomes redundant and the structure/flow of the narrative is jumbled and makes for a poor reading experience. You could read ten words on every page in the second half and get the gist of the chapter. I suspect that some people were bored by the stories of people’s evolution into the field, but I actually really enjoyed those - the problem was that they were clumsily structured.
November 6, 2019
Great summary of the current commercial cultured meat landscape and an honest look at the barriers to competitiveness with conventional livestock agriculture. Mostly anecdotal and interview based content from the people behind companies at the front of this emerging industry.
3 stars as chapters as I thought some of chapters were quite repetitive and could have been more structured, could have been a bit more succinct!
Overall though very fascinating and filled with rational optimism for reinventing our food-animal relationship.
3 stars as chapters as I thought some of chapters were quite repetitive and could have been more structured, could have been a bit more succinct!
Overall though very fascinating and filled with rational optimism for reinventing our food-animal relationship.
July 28, 2024
Such an important book that makes a great introduction to the cultivated meat world. It felt a little dragged out and could have been shorter if a lot of unnecessary build ups to the storyline would have been cut.
Overall, it was still a good book, containing a lot of information about clean meat. Since the book was written years ago, there have been many more discoveries that have happened. I look forward to learning more about this topic and read updates about the companies mentioned in this book.
Overall, it was still a good book, containing a lot of information about clean meat. Since the book was written years ago, there have been many more discoveries that have happened. I look forward to learning more about this topic and read updates about the companies mentioned in this book.
April 5, 2021
An enjoyable experience learning about a field I knew very little about. Anything that pertains to the future, grabs my attention very quick nowadays. It's crazy to think how we are currently in the beginning of the year 2021. And how much we, as humans (Homo Sapiens), have advanced scientifically throughout the years. It's extraordinary to say the least. Ten years down the line, who knows where we will be. I recommend this for anyone that's open minded and an out-of-the-box thinker. Maybe you're strongly invested in the future of our well being. Maybe you're not. It never hurts to know what is going on behind the scene.
August 18, 2020
One of the most exciting technologies of our time, I am absolutely ready for a world without factory farming, the slaughter of billions of animals who live a life of entirely suffering; future generations will look upon this as barbarism in our ‘enlightened’ age.
September 6, 2018
Really fascinating read! A good place to start if you are looking to learn about cellular agriculture. Note that it is written assuming you already know and understand the negative effects of conventional meat and dairy (human health, environmental, economic, etc.)
September 22, 2018
History in progress. The books is maybe not a masterpice itself but the topic... future happening right now.
October 18, 2019
Good introduction to the future of 'animal' products and how we are going to end the cattle industry.
February 13, 2020
Future of meat lies in growing it.
Animals for slaughter are in terrible conditions.
Growing meat can be cheaper, no slaughters and we could have more wild nature.
The future depends on delivery.
I.e. sushi got popular thanks to California roll.
Memphis meats is predicted to have commercial product starting 2021.
Also there is company for milk, yolk,..
and I am waiting for salmons! 😄
Animals for slaughter are in terrible conditions.
Growing meat can be cheaper, no slaughters and we could have more wild nature.
The future depends on delivery.
I.e. sushi got popular thanks to California roll.
Memphis meats is predicted to have commercial product starting 2021.
Also there is company for milk, yolk,..
and I am waiting for salmons! 😄
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2024
I really like the idea and it’s very thought provoking
March 25, 2019
Very complete pioneer book! Interested in clean meat? This is a must-read.
June 3, 2021
Dive into the future of meat ag industry. The science behind cultivating meat cells and brutality in the enormous suffering of animals for the industry was done in a compelling way of story telling.
April 12, 2020
Great book! It gives a great overview of the many players and perspectives in the space yet still reads like an exciting story. I learned so much from this book!
January 2, 2019
Fantastic! Great audio, too. I've actually started eating tofu. I never thought it would come to this!
Will be back to review...
Will be back to review...
November 19, 2018
Save yourself some time and seek out a current journal/magazine article on the subject as the author spends entirely too much time repeating the same basic information over and over again either in his own words or in quoting various industry experts. Additionally he is clearly biased and an unreliable source for a truly fair presentation of the facts - not that I'm arguing with his conclusions just observing that he has skin in the game and therefore cannot be relied on to be objective.
Essentially here's what you will learn:
Eating meat and using meat byproducts to produce goods is incredibly inefficient, destructive to the environment and an unsustainable practice given extractive costs combined with current population growth models. 'Clean Meat' would be a game changer. Presently many different companies throughout the world are working on lab grown alternates and are at various stages of development. If they can succeed in reducing costs, increase the volume significantly while simultaneously insuring safety and gaining regulatory approval then they have the potential to radically impact and improve humanity's chances of surviving. An additional hurdle is changing the public's perception of lab grown food. These challenges seem achievable based on previous models of development. Done.
That's essentially the core of what you will learn. Sure you'll read a lot about the names of the companies, who funded them, some details about how the various players met, what stage they were at a year ago and cursory details about the production process - BUT given the pace of change in the field and how damned repetitive this book is I suggest you skip it and seek concise, current information as this book is unnecessarily long. If you must read then skim and spend the most time on chapter 7.
Essentially here's what you will learn:
Eating meat and using meat byproducts to produce goods is incredibly inefficient, destructive to the environment and an unsustainable practice given extractive costs combined with current population growth models. 'Clean Meat' would be a game changer. Presently many different companies throughout the world are working on lab grown alternates and are at various stages of development. If they can succeed in reducing costs, increase the volume significantly while simultaneously insuring safety and gaining regulatory approval then they have the potential to radically impact and improve humanity's chances of surviving. An additional hurdle is changing the public's perception of lab grown food. These challenges seem achievable based on previous models of development. Done.
That's essentially the core of what you will learn. Sure you'll read a lot about the names of the companies, who funded them, some details about how the various players met, what stage they were at a year ago and cursory details about the production process - BUT given the pace of change in the field and how damned repetitive this book is I suggest you skip it and seek concise, current information as this book is unnecessarily long. If you must read then skim and spend the most time on chapter 7.
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