Chapter 710: Eating Meat is a Big Problem
Luo Wenkun once accidentally bought a kind of artificial shrimp. He didn’t notice anything obviously unusual when eating it. It was not until he checked the ingredient list on the package that he discovered that this was actually "artificial shrimp" made from plant protein.
After reading the text on the packaging, Luo Wenkun realized that there seemed to be some slight differences between the two, but he couldn't be sure whether it was just a psychological suggestion.
Hearing Luo Wenkun's words, Lin Shi quickly retorted:
"That's just because your sense of taste is not sensitive enough. The difference here is still very obvious. Plant protein cannot completely replace animal protein. Life without meat is incomplete!"
As a foodie and a meat lover, Lin Shi insisted on her point of view and did not back down because of Luo Wenkun's words.
"I agree with Lin Shi on this point. Not eating meat is indeed very uncomfortable. Replacing animal protein with plant protein is essentially still a vegetarian diet," said Hu Shucheng.
Seeing this, Xu You also stood up and said:
"Yes, I also think that animal protein is an indispensable part. Of course, I also know that it is difficult to build pastures like those on the Blue Planet underground on the Moon. Even if some pastures can be built, the price of meat will be very high and can only be provided to a few people. This is inconsistent with our original concept."
Since Xu You is willing to lead people all over the world to escape together, he naturally hopes that everyone can live a better life instead of living in an underground shelter like in prison.
At this time, Xu You changed the subject:
"I think that if we want to balance this issue, one direction we can consider is to study real 'artificial meat'."
“Real artificial meat?”
Hearing Xu You's words, Luo Wenkun, Lin Shi and Hu Shucheng all spoke in surprise.
Lin Shi was the first to react and confirmed with Xu You:
"Teacher, the direction you are talking about is to use cell bases to grow artificial meat?"
Lin Shi is worthy of being one of the people who has the best understanding with Xu You, and he understood Xu You's thoughts immediately .
Xu You nodded upon hearing this:
"Yes, that's the direction. We use animal stem cells as seeds to grow various meat products just like growing plants. Some companies are already working on this, but it's still in the early stages and there's still a long way to go before it can be commercialized. What we want to do is to make this technology truly applicable and commercialized."
The current direction of cell-based artificial meat not only produces meat that tastes worse than normal meat, but also has a very high cost, which is much more expensive than ordinary meat.
Except for a very small number of people who buy this artificial meat out of curiosity, most ordinary people will never give it a second glance.
"Well, if this technology can really be commercialized, I am also willing to try to accept this artificial meat. The prerequisite is that the taste is not too different from normal meat, safety issues can be guaranteed, and the price is normal." Lin Shi said.
"But this technology is really exciting. By using cell-based artificial meat, we can only produce specific parts. For example, chicken can produce more chicken wings, pork can produce more pig trotters, and beef can produce more streaky tendon meat... No, I'm almost drooling just thinking about it."
Hu Shucheng is relatively optimistic about this technology. After all, if it can really be as Hu Shucheng imagines, then humans can truly achieve meat freedom.
After listening to
"Well, this direction can indeed be discussed in detail. But after all, we are not experts in biology, so let's study it together with the experts later. I will talk about this matter with Gao Mi and other experts, and we will discuss it in detail when we return to Jijing University."
Xu You had not done any in-depth research on the technology of cell-based artificial meat cultivation, so he nodded and agreed to Luo Wenkun's proposal.
In the following period, everyone continued to discuss other details of the lunar space station transformation project and reached consensus on several ideas.
…
After several days of meetings, the expert delegations from various countries have reached agreements on a number of engineering cooperation.
This means that the lunar space station transformation plan is no longer just an empty fantasy, but a real plan that has already been implemented.
The transformation of the lunar space station does not mean that all human beings on the blue planet will definitely escape to outer space on the moon. This is just an alternative plan.
If humans can successfully resist the impact of alien civilizations and ensure the safety of the blue planet, then there will be no need for humans to evacuate.
But everyone knows that judging from the various technologies demonstrated by alien civilizations, their level of civilization is most likely far higher than that of the Blue Planet.
Therefore, regardless of whether the humans on the Blue Planet will eventually escape, the lunar space station transformation plan must be implemented as soon as possible.
After the meeting, Xu You and others returned to Jijing University.
Gao Mi had already received the notification from Luo Wenkun. After confirming that Xu You had returned to school and had time to see her, she brought several core scientists from the team to Xu You's laboratory.
"Professor Gao, you are here."
Seeing Gao Mi and the others coming, Xu You greeted them with a smile.
"Academician Xu, I heard that you and Mr. Luo were discussing the issue of artificial meat and wanted to discuss it with us."
"Yes, that's true. This is a technology that needs to be studied on the moon in the future, because the space on the moon is relatively limited. It is not realistic to build a large number of pastures like on the blue planet. Therefore, we must carry out technical research on artificial meat and strive to make people all over the world eat meat on the moon."
After hearing what Xu You said, Gao Mi finally understood why Xu You was looking for her.
"I see. The space on the moon is not suitable for large-scale livestock farming."
In the following time, Gao Mi introduced some information about artificial meat to Xu You.
"There are two main directions for artificial meat. The first is artificial meat made from plant protein, that is, plant-based artificial meat. This direction can simulate the taste of meat to the greatest extent, but it is still plant protein in essence."
"The second type is animal-based artificial meat, which is different from plant-based artificial meat. It is based on biological tissue culture and uses animal stem cells as seeds to produce meat."
