Unless you're lucky enough to raise your own meat animals, are on good terms with an organic farmer who slaughters his or her own or fork out for organically raised meat from your local supermarket, chances are the meat you eat comes at a pretty high cost to the environment.

There are all sorts of unsettling statistics around as to the inputs required for a kilogram of beef, poultry etc.; not to mention the environmental impact and issues relating to cruelty. Another major problem is how much meat we eat. The answer of course is to reduce meat consumption or become vegetarian.. but here's another option.

.. meat grown in a laboratory..

I've written on the topic of "in vitro" meat, test tubeor cultured meat in the past and it looks like research is steaming ahead. Lab grown meat could be hitting supermarket shelves in a few years.

"The scientists extracted cells from the muscle of a live pig and then put them in a broth of other animal products. The cells then multiplied and created muscle tissue. They believe that it can be turned into something like steak if they can find a way to artificially "exercise" the muscle. "

Mmm.. mm.. sounds positively tempting.. not.

But then again I think a trip to a factory farm/slaughterhouse might have people thinking twice about their meat habit.

I'm not a vegan.. not anywhere close to it. I love meat. Damn the forces of creation for making animals just so tasty! However, the whole meat issue continues to play on my mind a lot and I've been cutting back consumption - it's been a long process and I have a long way to go.

Another little tap on the shoulder after the "screaming of the pigs" incident I had recently was when for the first time in many years I came face-to-face with a pig. I was somewhat stunned by just how "aware" this creature was; unlike sheep which I refer to as woolly vegetables. It was a very odd experience.

However, sheep have feelings too right? And whatever the animal, there's no doubt how much damage has been wrought on our planet through our passion for cheese burgers and such. Contrary to what the article above states, I don't think this a GMO food - there's no mixing of species as far as I know (yet)

So, yep, I reckon I would still give lab grown meat a shot as long as it wasn't a case of switching from one "bad" thing to another equally bad thing. But hopefully mock meat products based on plant materials will continue to improve in taste and selection - I would rather take that route.

How about you?