Anyone up for some laboratory-grown meat?

A few days ago, a friend asked me if I would consider eating laboratory-grown meat.

As a vegan, I still found that intuitively un-appetising, but she pushed me to explain why not. It wouldn’t involve killing an animal, and the animal wouldn’t have eaten huge amounts of vegetation, and would therefore be without a climate footprint. I do not know how growing live cells and harvesting them for food might be painless — will this lab meat be without nerve endings? I am not even sure of the ecological footprint, far less the climate footprint. How much water will such an experiment need, for example, compared to a kilo of cauliflower?

When my friend pushed me, I realised what made me squirm — moving life forms to the lab. That we were reproducing an approximation of life, and calling it life, in laboratories. It seemed like GM foods plus-plus.

I am usually a tech-phile. But mastery over nature instead of conserving it — indeed the harder option — is not acceptable. You cannot cherry pick the parts you think you need, modify them in a lab and pat yourself on the back. You have to see technology as one step in the battle to conserve, the other being reduced consumption. Self-control as a society is key. Otherwise, why not simply put out sweet-natured, non-biting lab tigers in an enclosed safari and let the rest of the wild tigers die out as their habitat is destroyed and poachers hunt them down? Doesn’t make sense? Push yourself to ask why.

Perhaps your answer will also help you figure out your position on lab meat. DEHRADUN: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Sunday threatened to hold statewide demonstrations from Monday against the Uttarakhand government if it does not withdraw its order declaring 14 Hindu festivals, including Dussehra and Diwali, as restricted holidays.

The organisation will submit memorandums to governor KK Paul and President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday in connection with the issue.

The Trivendra Singh Rawat government on December 15 issued an order declaring 14 Hindu festivals as restricted holidays. Out of the 14 festivals, halfa-dozen are major Hindu festivals like Dussehra, Karwachauth, Dhanteras, Diwali, Bhaiya Dooj and Chath puja.

“We will submit memorandums to the governor and the president of India urging them to prevail upon the state government to withdraw its order declaring 14 Hindu festivals as restricted holidays,” said VHP state unit secretary Sanjay, who goes by his first name.

“Announcing such major Hindu festivals as restricted holidays is clearly against the Hindu sentiment,” Sanjay said