Japanese Scientist Synthesizes Steak From Human Feces

[Norade]

This is a cool breakthrough and if made cheap enough could help for things like long term space missions. Initially I think I'd have issues with eating it myself, but if they can price it below regular meat I'd likely save a few bucks and at least try it.

[Enigma]

I guess I'm in the minority who doesn't see 'uses protein found in shit' to be the same as 'eating a bowl of shit soup omg shit icky'.

Maybe people just don't know much about hospitality kitchen standards? Eating something like this is way less disgusting than eating at a lot of restaurants; mice were not involved!

Unless the shit-steak is prepared by those very same kitchens.

When I read the title, my first thought was "Only in Japan would this happen."

I'd rather have the meat described in Simon's article than the Japanese method simply because of the sheer ick factor.

[madd0ct0r]

I think it's more likely the method will be used to produce high protein animal feed, which is a hell of a lot better then using arable land to grow it.

This is, I suppose, taking it to it's extreme conclusion as a proof of concept

[PeZook]

So all we need are chips made from toenail clippings and sauce from vaginal discharge and we have a fine meal for anybody disturbed enough to want to eat it lol.

You are getting too hung up on the "it's made from shit!!!" angle. What do you think nice fresh tasty veggies need to grow? Particularly those really nice tasty fresh veggies grown on so-called "organic" farms?

[Panzersharkcat]

I can't let go of that, though. With veggies, it's one step removed from shit, since the plant "eats" the shit first. (Wait, that doesn't really work, does it?)

[Shroom Man 777]

A lot of seeds, which plants grow out of, are deposited by animals shitting them on to the ground.

[Simon_Jester]

I can't let go of that, though. With veggies, it's one step removed from shit, since the plant "eats" the shit first. (Wait, that doesn't really work, does it?)

Arguably, it does. The plant takes feces (among other things, since good soil isn't pure manure), and then breaks the stuff up on the atomic level to convert it into plant matter. That sense of 'one step removed' is still totally justified, becase there's a step which totally destroyes the poop molecules and turns them into vegetable molecules in the process.

Now, essentially the same applies to the synthetic steak, unless I am much mistaken, but I can still see the psychology at work.

[Feil]

20 times the target price is not bad for a brand new technology. Definitely feasible for a future product.

I would not buy it for myself or any other person to eat, but for animal feed I could accept it.

(Obligatory: "Eat recycled food: it's good for the planet and okay for you!")

[someone_else]

Good to see that Japan is still doing insane things as usual.

I think it's more likely the method will be used to produce high protein animal feed, which is a hell of a lot better then using arable land to grow it.

You keep looking at stuff from different angles than anyone else.

Animal poo is never in short supply, and is much easier to harvest than human poo. In civilized countries anyway.

I can't let go of that, though. With veggies, it's one step removed from shit, since the plant "eats" the shit first. (Wait, that doesn't really work, does it?)

Depends from how good is the procedure.
A chemist I know told me that making a reaction where you don't have to waste weeks to purify the products up to a decent degree is not as easy as it may seem when you look at the theory.

The main danger from shit should be biohazards (bacteria and viruses), not other chemicals or radioactives. The former will likely get disassembled by the stuff converting the shit into a steak. The latters may or may not be removed, depending on what preocedure they are following.

But again, if that is poo, it means the creature that ate it didn't die, so it should be safe after you nuked the bacteria/viruses.

I still wonder if this thing nukes prions too (they are Evil Borg Proteins that fuck up other proteins into copies of themselves). I really hope it does.

[Broomstick]

Animal poo is never in short supply, and is much easier to harvest than human poo. In civilized countries anyway.

Of course, with the abundance of slaughter house scrap it seemed to make a certain sort of sense to recycle leftover bits of cow into high-protein cow feed.... Didn't turn out so well in the end.

The main danger from shit should be biohazards (bacteria and viruses), not other chemicals or radioactives. The former will likely get disassembled by the stuff converting the shit into a steak. The latters may or may not be removed, depending on what preocedure they are following.

It's possible - Bay State Fertilizer is refined shit from the Boston sewer system. So far, it's seems entirely wholesome. Of course, it's also monitored on a consistent basis, that helps a lot.

[madd0ct0r]

yeah, if it's suitable for human consumption, it should be good enough for the chickens.

thinking about it, heavy metal concentration and accumulation might be an issue. When you're disposing of human waste on fields you have to monitor the heavy metal content. get past a point and you can't use the land for crops.

same could go for the block of atoms that are being eaten, shit, processed, fed to mr porker, eaten shit ect.

[Broomstick]

Not just heavy metals - the human waste stream in industrialized countries is also full of pharmaceuticals, which can rise to dangerous concentrations (I believe Alyrium has ranted about issues of this sort). The processing from shit to steak may or may not take care of that issue. It's a manageable problem either way, but only if you monitor the situation frequently and diligently and do something about high concentrations of anything that is not desirable.

[Stark]

Since it's just reprocessing protein in shit, and not actually eating shit and taking it into another organism, I really don't think that's an issue.

[someone_else]

Of course, with the abundance of slaughter house scrap it seemed to make a certain sort of sense to recycle leftover bits of cow into high-protein cow feed.... Didn't turn out so well in the end.

That was a "grinding the stuff into bits and flavour it". And the illness was a prion, a protein-only virus, a very new entry on the scene.

If this process disassembles proteins and doesn't just extract them, everything it should be fine. (virus get nuked, prions like get nuked, bacteria get nuked as well)

If it just gathers proteins up without disassembing them... I'm not gonna eat it.

Not just heavy metals - the human waste stream in industrialized countries is also full of pharmaceuticals, which can rise to dangerous concentrations

And if the sewer system also collects rain and water coming from dish and cloth washing, you're in for the new level of pain.
Soaps and cancer-inducing particulates from car exhaust (rain collects them from the air)will also be present.
Plus random stuff that idiots dump in their toilet (like for example oil and grease), and loads of other kinds of solid/semi solid materials you have to remove, of course.

Heavy metals can be removed relatively easily since they are ions with an actual charge.

All pharmaceuticals can be removed with reverse osmosis ad/or nanofiltration.

That's why I like much more the idea of using animal poo, since you intercept the shit before it gets into the sewers, where it encounters a buttload of other annoying things you then have to get rid of at your expense.

[Broomstick]

Except animal poo in modern societies has just as much, if not more, pharmaceuticals than human poo.

[someone_else]

That's mostly antibiotics and growth hormones, not anywhere near the same stuff we take, unless you have a city of body-builders or bulls that need Viagra. (let's not forget drug users, since that ends up in the sewers as well after it was flushed from your body, I remember the numbers about the concentration of cocaine in the sewers of Milan...)
Although the dose of such stuff will be relatively high.

Anyway I was pointing out that in sewers you find much more stuff than just pharmaceuticals.
Animal poo does not contain soaps you use to wash dishes/floors/clothes, and particulates from car exhaust, or mineral/frying oil, or poison to kill bugs and suncream for example.
In sewers it's common to find them in moderately dangerous quantities (not enough to kill but not healthy for long-term exposure).

Is it better to remove just pharmaceuticals or pharmaceuticals + cadres of other equally annoying stuff?

[Kingmaker]

Seriously though, every time I see something like this I think 'Ooo, I'm living in the future'. Unfortunately it increasingly looks like it's going to be a cyberpunkish dystopia, where the poor eat recycled shit and the rich eat the poor.

You know what this costs? They gotta raise a whole animal for years and then they kill it.

I'll be honest, I'd probably be fine with this as long as no one told me what it was, but as soon as I found out... not hungry anymore. Any indication as to the texture of the shit steak? That can be as important as taste to some people. Something that tastes like beef but feels like paste might not go over so well.

[HMS Sophia]

Just mentioned this to the parents in law. There first reaction is "ew, thats disgusting"... personally, I'd try it. Sounds just as bad as quorn (fungus!) and tofu, so I'd probably try it. And I eat those two alot

Seriously though, every time I see something like this I think 'Ooo, I'm living in the future'. Unfortunately it increasingly looks like it's going to be a cyberpunkish dystopia, where the poor eat recycled shit and the rich eat the poor.

Hey evilsoup. I'm gonna sig this if thats okay. I'll remove it if it's not.

[Kuroneko]

Can anyone find a credible source for this? The video the article based on sounds more like a parody than anything newsworthy.

[evilsoup]

Yay, I've been sig'd!

I'd eat this if I was hungry. If this became normal, I think I could accept it (but I wouldn't see this becoming normal any time soon ever). I'm not sure if I see the point of this ... I mean, surely it would be better for fatty anglos to just eat less meat? Should we really be looking for ultra-high-tech solutions when 1) we already have the capability to feed everyone and 2) most parts of the world have the capability to be self-sufficient? Surely the better solution would be a single democratic socialist world-state?

[Broomstick]

I'm not sure if I see the point of this ...

It's an interesting and novel form of waste treatment, if nothing else.

I mean, surely it would be better for fatty anglos to just eat less meat?

It's not like "anglos" are the only overweight/obese people on the planet. Thanks for making a racist generalization. Given this was developed in Japan why do you assume it was aimed at white people?

Should we really be looking for ultra-high-tech solutions when 1) we already have the capability to feed everyone and 2) most parts of the world have the capability to be self-sufficient? Surely the better solution would be a single democratic socialist world-state?

1) We have the capability to make sufficient food for everyone. It is clear that we either lack the ability to transport it where needed, or the morality to transport it where needed if we do have that ability.

2) I question if that's actually true. Define "parts". Las Vegas, for example, is in no way self-sufficient and entirely dependent on food and water being delivered from outside the region it occupies. That's aside from some rather well-known African areas which are plagued by drought and famine.

3) This could certainly have applications in remote areas, such as stations in Antarctica which are cut off from supply for months at a time, as well space stations/colonies if we ever manage to get out there.