A Meat Eaters Adventure at a Vegan Deli

I am a meat eater. I always have been. I know the problems that come with meat, how it is made, where it comes from, all kinds of problems. But I like it. I have always liked it. I have never wanted to be vegetarian. And I have no problem with anyone that decides they want to be vegetarian or vegan. We can make those choices.

When I do get annoyed is when a non meat eater tells me why I'm wrong for eating meat. I don't need to be talked at about my problems. Let me deal with that on my own. My buddy is a vegetarian, but he has never talked down to me about eating meat. He doesn't care that I eat meat, I don't care that he doesn't. It's no big deal. Lately he was telling me a lot about a new vegan sandwich shop in STL that he really likes called Vegan Deli and Butcher. And he wasn't telling me about this place to say stuff like, "see vegans can eat good food too", he just liked the place, we hang out a lot and we tell each other about cool spots that one of us may not know about. So, I have heard a lot about this place, and it piqued my interest. He told me he has become cool with one of the owners, so it's even easier for him to go there. He's comfortable there. Last weekend while I was out of town he watched my dog. He wouldn't take money, so I told him I would take him out to lunch, his choice. He cashed in his earnings yesterday and he took me to Vegan Deli and Butcher.

I was amped. He has said nothing but good things, the restaurant is getting rave reviews and my curiosity has only grown since first hearing about this place. When we walked in I was already pumped to try it. The space is cool. There were a few high tables, a few tables with benches and a couple regular tables with two seats. We ordered at the counter and we were able to see our sandwiches being made. Everything appears to be made to order when you eat in the shop. I ordered the philly cheesesteak and my buddy got the Maine lobster roll. We each ordered a drink, and the drink fridge was great. They had Faygo soda, San Pelligrino and Diet Arnold Palmer bottles. I was stoked at this. I'm a fan of places that have different drinks from the norm. My buddy got a Faygo and I had a San Pelligrino. I love it. Then our sandwiches came out, each garnished with a delicious pickle. My cheesesteak was excellent. I don't know what kind of plant based meat they used for it, but it was damn delicious. It tasted like the thin steak that is synonymous with cheesesteaks. The spices were damn near perfect. The veggies, onions and green peppers, were super fresh. That adds so much to a sandwich, when you get good quality produce like that. It was perfect. My favorite part of the sandwich was the cheese sauce. I don't know how they did it, but it tasted just like cheese whiz. It was exactly what I wanted the cheese to taste like on a sandwich like this. And the bread, man, was it tasty and filling. You get a giant hoagie roll that is crusty on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. It was perfect. My buddy said the lobster roll was good too. I didn't get a full look at it, but he said he thought the lobster was artichokes, and that they seasoned it exactly how he remembered seafood tasting. This food was great. It did the job of tricking my meat eating brain into thinking it was real meat. My buddy told me he has had half the menu and he has enjoyed each item, He bought a couple of frozen pizzas to bring home. The food wasn't overly expensive, and for the quality, I'd pay more if asked. I will for sure go back and try other sandwiches.

Vegan Deli and Butcher is a homerun sandwich shop, and if you are from STL or visiting STL, go check it out. It is worth the trip. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Our future source for meat will not be the animals

The cattle farm of tomorrow

What if we could enjoy the taste and nutritional benefits of meat without subjecting the animals from whom the meat comes to the suffering that we currently put them through? In vitro meat is an attempt to fulfill this ideal. Also known as synthetic meat, test-tube meat, and victimless meat; in vitro meat is an animal-flesh product that has never been part of an animal that has been alive.

Winston Churchill said in an article that was written in 1931, “We shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium.” Thus, the idea of in vitro meat has been around for a long time. Only recently have we actually developed the technology to try it.

The first lab grown burger was cooked and eaten in 2013 at a news conference in London. This was accomplished by taking stem cells from a cow and growing them into strips of muscle. It was tasted by two critics, one of whom stated: “There is really a bite to it, there is quite some flavour with the browning. I know there is no fat in it so I didn't really know how juicy it would be, but there is quite some intense taste; it's close to meat, it's not that juicy, but the consistency is perfect. This is meat to me... It's really something to bite on and I think the look is quite similar.”

There is, of course, a world of difference between lab tested and consumer ready. Some challenges exist before we will find this option at our local grocery stores. One challenge is the cost. In 2008 a piece of in vitro beef weighing only 250 grams cost about $1 million. The burger that was created in 2013 had about $275,000 in funding to develop it. The professor leading the team estimated that it would be about 10 years before it would be cost competitive to traditional beef.

Another challenge, which is related to cost, is scale. Producing this stuff in a large enough scale to be useful to consumers is going to have to be considered. How do we culture these cells in a way that provides a well-balanced mixture of ingredients and growth factors? One possible solution is using a plant-based medium to keep costs down. In that case allergenic factors might need to be considered.

In vitro meat would not only reduce the suffering of animals, there are possible benefits for those who eat it over traditional meat too. Artificial growth hormones may not be required for production of in vitro meat. Omega-3 fatty acid could be added to it as well. It would also be produced in a much more sterile environment leading to reduced exposure to things like pesticides and fungicides.

On the environmental front, an Oxford study found in vitro meat to be much more friendly and efficient. According to the study, cultured meat would generate up to 96% lower greenhouse gas emissions than traditionally produced meat. They also estimated that it would require 7-45% less energy to achieve equal volumes of pork, sheep, or beef. Another major benefit would be 99% lower land use.

As far as ethical and religious concerns, thoughts vary among interested individuals. Though many animal welfare organizations are tend to favor in vitro meat since it does not have a nervous system, some who enjoy a vegetarian diet argue that using fetal calf serum as a growth medium negates the ethical consideration. Those identifying as Jewish disagree on whether in vitro is kosher. Scholars of the Muslim population state that in vitro meat would be allowed by Islamic law if the original cells and growth medium were halal.

I personally have been on vegetarian and vegan diets in the past. Currently meat does not sit well with me from the standpoint of suffering that it causes, therefore I have not been eating it. I would eat this “test-tube meat” were it to be available to me inexpensively. I am going to keep an eye on the progression of in vitro meat and am a candidate to be an early adopter once it is ready for consumers.

What do you think? Would you rather eat traditionally grown meat or meat produced in vitro given a choice if the end product was almost indistinguishable? Comment to let me know.

Kirk Aug

Kirk cultivates the Idea Farm here at SeedSing. He is always on the look out for the next great sociological invention. If you have an interest in the future, make sure to follow Kirk on twitter @kirkaug.