From my last post I was curious and eager to investigate people opinions and concerns about bioprinting meat. Since this concept is not something everyone is informed about, I decided the best way to conduct my data is to ask around my friends and family members on their thoughts concerning this topic. I was eager to find out people’s thought of this new innovation. If they see any outcomes that will benefit people in the future? And will they be willing to consume meat that was been bioengineered?
I began my research asking friends and family members whether they have heard of 3D printing. I was surprise that a large amount of people where informed about this new technology, and where fascinated with the concept of being able to print out designs in 3D form. I then proceeded with more complex questions referring bioprinting. The results were favorable and many of the participates thought the idea of constructing organs was a revolutionary idea and should be put into practice. It was touching at one point, because out of the 30 people that I was able to interview, ten of the participates had a relative or friend that had die due to an organ failure. Surprisingly the majority of participates were also willing to give bioprinting a chance, if they were in need of a new organ.
However when I brought up the ideas of bioprinting meat, interestingly enough there was an even number of people who favor and those who opposed this type of bioprinting. Many were skeptical with the fact that meat will be processed as a “science project” for humans to consume, as stated by one of the participates. Indeed it is understandable that people may feel this way, being that this concept is new and people are used to getting their animal products from slaughterhouses or factories. Participates felt bioprinted meat will be more harmful to the human body than the meat we consume today.
But not everyone felt this way, there were others that thought differently and were more open minded than the traditional participates. These people were willing to try bioprinted meat, if it were ever fabricated and sold for human consumption. They believed biopringing meat had the benefit to help solve global issues, for example providing food to third world countries that are in need for food. They also mention that food can be manipulated to contain more nutrients and proteins than regular food. This will help people who need certain special diets.
Though my research I was lucky to also interview a vegetarian concerning this topic. He thought that although bioprinting meat can help prevent farm animal cruelty, he still wouldn’t be convinced to consume this meat. He felt that at the end this “meat” is still processed with chemicals, just like the meat we consume now. The only difference is that companies wouldn’t have to sacrifice the animal.
After the interviews I was able to glance at the cons and the pros of how people perceive bioprinting meat. Participates that agree or disagree with this concept both have strong valid points, which need to be acknowledged. We still remain unknown to what extended bioprinting will reach, meanwhile people need to be more open minded towards the changes that technology will bring in the future. I believe that although manufacturing meat in a lab is controversial and strange, it has the potential to solve many global problems that affect us greatly today.