[Book Sip] Artificial Meat and the Future of Meat-Eating: 'Meditations on Meat'

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of the book itself, while others instantly reach the reader's heart, creating a point of connection with the book. Here, we excerpt and introduce such meaningful sentences from the book. - Editor's note

This is a scientific report covering everything from small petri dishes in laboratories to the history of carnivory, the future of food, and the Earth's environment. It is also a philosophical essay reflecting on the future technology that will change human-animal relationships and the conditions of being human. It answers questions such as: What future does biotechnology promise? Is carnivory human nature? Will factory farming disappear if cultured meat and alternative meat become commercialized? Is artificial meat alive? What is life? If we can obtain meat without killing animals, will humans evolve ethically? What happens to humans if they eat meat cultured from human cells?

From a dystopian perspective, the terrifying "future of meat" is not a future where meat is grown in laboratories, but a future where a global pandemic starts from the bodies of animals abused in cramped spaces. (pp. 20-21)

While researching the cultured meat movement, the term "post-animal bioeconomy" was used almost like a buzzword. (p. 43)

Cultured meat should not be seen as a deviation from the history of meat, but as part of the history of meat. (p. 54)

The lesson from sociobiology debates is that even if meat, as part of a survival strategy through dietary diversification, "made us human," that does not prove that craving meat is our nature. (p. 75)

Meat is not simply food; it carries meanings beyond that. (p. 91)

Issues about food are not always issues about the market. For many, they are also issues of social justice, public health, and the dignity of communities (...). Furthermore, it is also a question about the role of the state in people's life-sustaining activities. (pp. 129-130)

The reason I track and record the story of cultured meat is that it touches on a complex issue lodged in a corner of my soul. I have long felt uneasy about carnivory. Is eating animals ethical? If eating animals is unethical, why do I continue to eat them? What does it mean to live with such hypocrisy? (pp. 140-141)

Our cells grown by tissue culture (human flesh) push us into the world of livestock. And if we eat such cells, that act would mean accepting that the human condition is being reorganized in that way. (p. 332)

Reflections on Meat | Written by Benjamin A. Woergaft | Translated by Bang Jini | Dolbegae | 443 pages | 20,000 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.