http://vimeo.com/31546221

I'm just wondering what others think about this. There's more scientific literature on it if you are interested.

Well, there are several implications if this is viable.

The one that strikes me is what would we do with all those cows and pigs and sheep that we don't need to farm any more? The land that many of them are on could be used for other things (well, sheep tend to use otherwise useless land, but otherwise...), they'd compete for resources and they are not adapted to living in the wild after many generations of human genetic engineering so would need looking after.

Do they just end up being confined to a bunch of zoos?

This transformation will happen gradually based on the marketplace, and maybe some government prodding. Perhaps in 10 to 15 years most people would buy factory meat. However, there will be some traditionalists and others who will pay a premium for natural meat, just like some people pay a premium for wild fish. i wouldn't be surprised if natural meat tastes just a little bit better, especially if you are used to it. You may also use it for special occasions and holidays.

Existing animals will be consumed as they are now; of course some will survive. But we probably would consumer fewer and the land, water, and energy savings would be enormous.

Ah well, if the 'market' is running it, we need have no fears...

I think it would be a lot longer, to be honest. There will be loads of resistance to such a change. Which may mean it's easier to address the question of how to deal with all those food-animals and their descendants.

You would prefer the ex managers of Freddie Mac?

What about the ethics of eating natural meat when you have a near equal substitute available? One of the reasons I think people eat meat (aside from the enjoyment) is that they feel that they in some sense need meat. As we move towards a future where we will either be able to come up with either a meat substitute or perhaps some supplement that will replace the nutritional components of meat, I think there will be an abortion-like discussion regarding the morality of eating animals with some degree of sentience. At the very least, we would want to end the factory like production of meat and return meat production to a more humane way of using animals for meat (incouding letting them live natural lives). Or perhaps we would require that you hunt or fish or be more actively involved in killing the animal before you could use it for meat (on the theory that it would be immoral to eat the meat of an aniimal unless you had a personal acquaintance with the animal as a living thing and not as a piece of meat)