Fighting Mad
In recent years, our government has been handing out money to companies they think are reducing carbon dioxide (CO2). In many ways the money isn’t actually used to reduce CO2, but the funding fits the reasoning for making climate change political, which I think is wrong.
Today it is the name of the game, as we see all kinds of subsidies coming out of Washington, D.C. – from electric cars to outlawing a gas range, the list goes on and on.
I read a story by Alt-Meat that really got my attention. My first thought was, “This is going to make our soldiers fighting mad.”
A Pentagon-funded company is seeking proposals to feed America’s soldiers lab-grown meat in a bid to reduce the CO2 footprint at Department of Defense (DOD) outposts.
BioMADE, a public-private company which has received around $500 million in funding from the DOD, announced earlier this month it is seeking proposals to develop innovations in food production to reduce the CO2 footprint of food production at DOD operational environments.
The article says, “These include novel cell culture methods suitable for the production of cultivated meat/protein – or lab-grown meat – a product which is still in its experimental phases. This type of meat is grown in a lab from animal cells with the aid of other chemicals and has emerged as a flashpoint in debates about the efficacy and morality of manufacturing meat products without slaughtering animals.”
“Innovations in food production to reduce the CO2 footprint of food production at and/or transport to DOD operational environments are solicited,” the article continues. “These could include – but are not limited to – production of nutrient-dense military rations via fermentation processes, utilizing one carbon molecule feedstocks for food production and novel cell culture methods suitable for the production of cultivated meat/protein.”
Critics of the DOD’s partnership with BioMade say U.S. troops should not be used as test subjects for lab-grown meat products which are still in their experimental phase.
Jack Hubbard, executive director at the Center for the Environment and Welfare, says, “Taxpayer dollars should not be used to fund the lab-grown meat sector. Our troops deserve better than to be served lab-grown meat, produced in bioreactors with immortalized cells and chemicals. Unfortunately, this effort is being driven by an agenda which is political and anti-farmer and rancher. Our soldiers should never be used as guinea pigs.”
Recent studies, including one published by the University of California-Davis suggests lab-grown meat’s carbon footprint is potentially worse than retail beef, so one knows this effort is driven by Washington, D.C.’s agenda.
There is also some congressional action to define meat as coming natural from an animal, which is sorely needed.
I agree, we don’t need to feed our military troops “glorified dogfood.”
Dennis Sun is the publisher of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup, a weekly agriculture newspaper available online and in print.
