Recently I was forwarded an article by my boss at work and came across someone who was exhorting the benefits of 3D Printed meat;specifically  in relation to prevention of animal slaughter by manufacturing artificial meat.

I was mildly amused and reached out to the person (Vivek Wadhwa) who had posted the article,on Twitter . The person immediately pointed me towards the reference link (which does not look like a definitive or reliable study because it points out that 88% of people prefer grain fed meat when in real life,most people are clueless or don’t give a damn about what their “meat ate”) that discusses the future of 3D printed meat.

First of all, just because something is possible does not necessarily make it suitable for public consumption. I respect vegetarianism as a personal choice but eating 3 D printed of meat does not help achieve a middle ground. How would you describe yourself if you were only eating 3D Printed meat apart from being a vegetarian? Would you say ” I am not strictly a meat eater, I just eat 3D printed meat”? Ok,Maybe a new definition will have to be coined somewhere down the line if 3D printed meat consumption takes off big time.

Also,when more and more people are increasingly drawn towards organic food to avoid the harmful effects of processed food; it seems highly unlikely that there will be a formidable number of 3D printed meat eaters. Artificial meat will never stop animal slaughter;in fact  theoretically stoppage of animal slaughter will cause a huge imbalances in world animal populations and food chain..the ingredients of 3D meat have to come from somewhere,right?

Conclusion : I don’t know if I would ever eat 3D printed.Maybe,just to boast to my friends I would take a nibble but I can never envision it becoming a regular part of my diet simply because there would not be any personal connection or identification with what I am about to eat(No, I don’t kill my own meat like Mark Zuckerberg). I am not sure about 3D printing of vegetables though..well,that’s another topic and I really don’t care about the feeling of vegetables 🙂