The headline caught my eye right away. Test–tube meat to be available this fall. Say what? It’s hamburger, made from a cow’s stem cells, and they say the purpose is to eventually replace the entire meat-animal industry. Dare I say there are a few schools of thought on the issue?

   This was all made public by Dutch scientists at a conference called “The Next Agricultural Revolution.” They say this will make it more affordable and healthier. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) gives it a thumbs up, and consider it another step forward for animal rights. But in case those Dutch scientists who developed what PETA called “Frankenburger” think they’re going to win the million dollar prize from PETA for the first lab-grown meat in commercial quantities…the answer from PETA is no. Apparently the rules PETA set up for that weren’t met by what they had developed.

  So why grow beef, poultry or pork in the lab? Advocates say that most land using for farming has little room for expansion, and that it’s the next logical step. Dutch scientist Mark Post was quoted as saying "In October we are going to provide a proof of concept showing out of stem cells we can make a product that looks, feels and hopefully tastes like meat."

   The USDA has the beef and livestock industry bringing in over $74 million annually, and we eat over 26 billion pounds each year according to the most recent stats available. So it would appear that test-tube beef will take some time to compete in the marketplace, but it has arrived.

   What do you think about it? I know I like a product that’s more natural, less hormones, preservatives, etc. But I just watched Soylent Green a few weeks ago. Enough said!

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM KELLY’S KITCHEN

It's people. Soylent Green is made out of people. They're making our food out of people. Next thing they'll be breeding us like cattle for food. You've gotta tell them. You've gotta tell them! Det. Thorn - “Soylent Green”