While more and more people are embracing vegetarianism, the numbers still seem to be relatively small when measured against the general population.

An interesting alternative that may in the not-too-distant future have the potential to greatly reduce the cruelty of livestock farming is ‘test-tube meat.’

The article below appeared in Saturday’s Globe and Mail. Interestingly, the cruelty issue isn’t even mentioned in the discussion of the environmental problems created by the production of meat.

THE ULTIMATE ECO-MEAL? IN-VITRO VITTLES
by Zoe Cormier
zcormier@globeandmail.com
January 5, 2008

TEST-TUBE LIVESTOCK
THE NEWS Juicy burgers and other meaty delights create huge environmental problems: Seventy per cent of deforestation in the Amazon is for cattle pasture, animal waste contaminates rivers and other water sources, and the belches and farts from livestock release about 37 per cent of planet-heating methane emissions. But teams of scientists in the United States, Norway and the Netherlands may have a solution - in-vitro meat grown from cell cultures instead of on the farm. They are working on feasibility estimates to be released this spring.

THE BUZZ Less livestock has some clear benefits. But will we actually stomach test-tube protein? The public hasn't warmed to the idea, and nobody has been able to grow enough meat in a lab to give it a proper taste test. But the In Vitro Meat Consortium still hopes to produce processed meats within a few years, and higher-quality cuts by 2020.

THE BOTTOM LINE Growing meat in a lab is very expensive - making 2.2 pounds currently cost up to $20,000. And the original cells used to seed the meat still have to be extracted from live animals. But the biggest challenge to this green innovation may be creating in vitro vittles that mimic the real thing.