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Ethics are only part of the equation. In terms of energy use and carbon emissions, such a system would not be a big improvement. Though I personally would find it valuable just for the ethical reasons.


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It might be a large step up. Not devoting calories to systems that aren't needed because of symbiosis could yield a large gain, and depending on the calorie input feedstock and waste output, carbon emissions might look very different. What does the carbon output of a whale or large fish look like in comparison to cattle?

Ultimately, with an approach like this it might be best bit to think of it as "modified cow/chicken/pig" but instead survey different animals to find some that already have fast and/or efficient growth phases that might already have some benefits.

I understand this is a hard sell for a lot of people, even if you just look at swapping out staple meats which this might require. Ultimately, we're probably served better by a bunch of different options than one giant monoculture of meat production, so there may be a place for everything.


I suppose that true breakthrough would be a development of a plant or fungus "base" that would be able to create animal cells.

So something like bamboo rhizome constantly growing an meat trunk, using either photosynthesis & minerals (plant-based) or plant mush (fungus-based) as source materials.


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