[quaist]

Why Lab-Grown Meat Is the Future of Food On 5 August, a select group of scientists, members of the media and gastronomes will be invited to try their first taste of in vitro meat at a ceremony in London. Dr Mark Post, a bio-scientist from the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands, will host this taste-testing event that offers the first-ever opportunity to sample the hamburger that he has grown in his laboratory from real bovine muscle tissue. It may surprise readers to learn that, among the funders of in vitro meat development in various countries - although not of this particular project - is People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) US. Why would a vegan-advocacy organisation actually fund the production of meat? For much the same reason that Bill Gates is sponsoring companies that are producing soya-based meat taste-alike products: Because if we want to reshape the future of the environment and still produce enough food to feed the world's booming population, we must reshape the future of meat production. Clearly, our main interest is in ending animal suffering, so we have stifled our revulsion at flesh-eating for a higher cause: to champion a breakthrough that could mean a far kinder world for billions of animals. Cultured meat is made from the same animal tissue that makes up conventional meat. But instead of being grown in an animal's body, it is grown in a nutrient-rich, pristine environment, like the way cultured yogurt and hydroponic vegetables are. The rooms in which the meat is to be grown, called "carneries", can be several stories high, eliminating the need to bulldoze forest land to make more room to grow the crops to feed farmed animals. The UN cites livestock production as a "key factor" in deforestation, especially in Latin America, where vast swaths of rain-forest land have been cleared for cattle grazing. Today, approximately 30 per cent of the Earth's land mass is used to graze animals or grow feed crops for them. And cultured meat can quash climate change in more ways than one. Together, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane cause the vast majority of global warming. Raising animals for food is one of the largest sources of carbon-dioxide emissions and the single largest source of both nitrous-oxide and methane emissions. Producing enormous amounts of grain to feed to farmed animals, then killing and processing the animals as well as transporting and storing their flesh, requires massive amounts of fossil fuels, which equals massive amounts of carbon dioxide. In addition, the billions of animals on factory farms produce methane during digestion, and as the acres of cesspools that are filled with the animals' waste decompose, they create a staggering 65 per cent of the world's nitrous-oxide emissions. Scientists estimate that industrialised cultured meat production would generate 78 to 96 per cent less greenhouse gas than would conventional factory farming. But despite the vast amounts of land, water and fossil fuels that we devote to raising animals for food, nearly 1 billion people are still undernourished. Why? Because of the gross inefficiency of meat production. It takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of animal flesh. Because lab-grown meat doesn't need to be "fed", we could give those same crops to human beings, thereby tackling world hunger if we have the will to do it. Meat produced in a laboratory is also far safer for human consumption. The aseptic environment eliminates the risk that the meat could be infected with bacteria from factory-farm filth, such as E. coli, campylobacter and salmonella. Mad-cow disease and avian influenzas cannot spread in an in vitro laboratory the way they can on a factory farm or at a live-animal market. And in vitro meat is free of the antibiotics that permeate much animal flesh. Crammed together in warehouses and often mired in their own waste, animals are given massive doses of antibiotics to keep them alive, even if barely, despite filthy conditions. But earlier this year, England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, called the danger posed by the growing resistance to antibiotics a "ticking time bomb". Obviously, in a laboratory, no alarms need sound. In addition to all these considerations, severe crowding and mutilations (such as the debeaking of chickens) and many other miseries are visited upon animals, and their slaughter is often prolonged and painful. Chickens and turkeys are shackled upside down by their fragile legs, and their throats are slit. If their heads miss the cutting blade, the birds are conscious when they are plunged into tanks of boiling water meant to remove their feathers. Undercover footage has shown pigs alive and squealing when they reach the scalding tank that removes their hair and softens their skin. Because of improper stunning techniques, cows may be conscious when their throats are cut and their bodies dismembered. If in vitro technology can help end massive animal suffering, reverse environmental damage, reduce world hunger and make the food supply safer, wouldn't everyone wish to support it?

Apparently, that's what comes from our rampant meat consumption. Well, it seems to have been inevitable

[sunnykerr]

When I decided to stop eating meat altogether, 20 years ago, my mum and I had a long conversation about where I was going to get my protein from.

I'm allergic to nuts, peanuts, soy when it's in high concentrations (as in tofu) and I'm also somewhat lactose intolerant (meaning a slice of cheese won't really affect me, but I couldn't base my diet on dairy products). Back then, alternative options we know today were a bit scarce on the ground. I ate legumes till I developed what I'll call a "psychological" allergy to them, so my mum and I went back to the drawing board.

I've been eating fish, sea food and poultry ever since.

That's a super long story to say that, I think that as long as the taste is there and the product is a decent source of protein, it can't be too bad an idea. Well, unless it's unfairly cost prohibitive.

[quaist]

So did you stop eating meat because of ethical beliefs then, Sunny?

I just find it sad that the obvious opportunity to solve this problem -- namely just eating less meat -- hasn't even been tried. Lab-grown meat seems to hold many benefits, I won't question that, it's just that I doubt it'd be necessary. Eating meat one time a week would do the trick for people, too.

[sunnykerr]

Ethical considerations were a part of it, I suppose. It's a bit of a long story. But, basically, in the span of a week, I started seeing reasons everywhere for going vegetarian. In interviews on TV, in "fiction" shows and in news reports.

It was like being bombarded, really. And, I don't know, it worked. I was a real carnivore back then. I ate meat for snacks. Then, one day to the next, it started grossing me out. So I decided I had to stop. But, like I said, I couldn't stop entirely.

Lowering meat consumption would be a good idea, of course, but I think there are two things hindering that idea from taking root.

On the one hand, you have the developing world where meat consumption is much lower because, by and large, it's not something most people can afford to have as part of their regular diet. As those regions start to gain wealth, a sign of that is the purchasing power. With things like meat, for instance.

The other aspect is that portion control could go a long way to mitigate the problem. And it seems that people who do have access to meat as part of their daily diet aren't necessarily inclined to reduce their portion sizes, which we can tell from the global obesity problem.

Obviously, loads of people who have access to meat make the choice to either control their intake, sometimes to the point of going completely vegetarian or vegan.

I'm just saying the two points I tried to describe seem (to me) to be the biggest hurdles in reducing global meat consumption.

[quaist]

You've certainly named two major factors that make lowering our overall meat comsuption to the point where we wouldn't need stuff like lab-grown meat next to impossible.

And I do realize that. It's just one of those topics where I simply can't wrap my brain around the fact that people have the power but lack the will to change things for the better. You know?

[sunnykerr]

Oh, I do know.

Mind you, I'm as guilty of it as anyone else.

Not with meat perhaps, but with things like books, DVDs and clothes. I have way more than I need.

I think it's greed. We want everything and we'll take as much as we can reach.

Well, okay, not everyone does that. Thank God.

But I do find that a lot of people do.

[quaist]

Greed certainly plays a key role in all this indeed.

But I do find there's a difference between owning many DVDs, clothes etc. and excessive meat consumption. When buying 'too much' clothes, at least you don't directly harm yourself (apart from your wallet, that is). Whereas when buying and eating meat, you do your own health a disservice, foster CO² emissions -- because of the required factory farming -- as well as animal abuse.

[sunnykerr]

Ah, but it's easy enough for people to dismiss all of that.

First of all, all of the companies who provide meat always fall over themselves to protect their company PR. So, of course, it's easy enough for a person to delude themselves into thinking the meat they're eating wasn't abused.

And we all produce emissions. The world is so saturated these days with all the ways in which we're killing the planet. People aren't about to get rid of their cas, why would they deny themselves the steak?

Nah. I think people just want to live the way they want to live and they'll find a way to let themselves do that.

[sunnykerr]

Programmer hacks Facebook, posts on Zuckerberg's wall After discovering a privacy bug on Facebook, unemployed Palestinian programmer Khalil Shreateh said he just wanted to collect the traditional $500 bounty the social network giant offers to those who voluntarily expose its glitches. But when Facebook ignored his first two reports, Shreateh took his message to the top -- and hacked into CEO Mark Zuckerberg's personal page to prove his point. "Sorry for breaking your privacy," he wrote the Facebook founder, "I has no other choice to make after all the reports I sent to Facebook team ... as you can see iam not in your friend list and yet i can post to your timeline." The stunt cost the 30-year-old Palestinian the bounty, but earned him praise -- and numerous job offers -- for being able to get to the boss of the world's most ubiquitous social network. Shreateh, who lives near the West Bank city of Hebron and has been unable to find a job since graduating two years ago with a degree in information technology, told Facebook that he found a way that allowed anyone to post on anyone else's wall. "I told them that you have a vulnerability and you need to close it," he told The Associated Press. "I wasn't looking to be famous. I just wanted to make a point to Mark (Zuckerberg)." In a message posted to the Hacker News, a user-driven security news site, Facebook software engineer Matthew Jones said the initial report was poorly worded, although he acknowledged that the company should have pressed for more information. "As a few other commenters have pointed out, we get hundreds of reports every day," Jones wrote. "Many of our best reports come from people whose English isn't great -- though this can be challenging, it's something we work with just fine and we have paid out over $1 million to hundreds of reporters. However, many of the reports we get are nonsense or misguided, and even those ... provide some modicum of reproduction instructions." Nevertheless, he said, "we should have pushed back asking for more details here." He went on to say that Shreateh would not be paid from Facebook's bounty program because he'd violated the company's terms of service -- namely by posting items to the Facebook pages of users he should not have had access to. "The more important issue here is with how the bug was demonstrated using the accounts of real people without their permission. Exploiting bugs to impact real users is not acceptable behaviour for a white hat," he said, using an industry term for ethical security experts. Jones added that the bug was fixed Thursday. Facebook declined to comment beyond the post. The bug -- and Facebook's response to it -- has become a talking point in information security circles, with many speculating that the Palestinian could have helped himself to thousands of dollars had he chosen to sell the information on the black market. Shreateh said he was initially disappointed by the Facebook response but that after being inundated by job offers from all over the world he is pleased with how things worked out. "I am looking for a good job to start a normal life like everybody," he said. "I am so proud to be the Palestinian who discovered that exploit in Facebook."

Source

I rather think Facebook is being a really sore loser here, since Shreateh could have let the whole thing go unnoticed.

At least he got job offers from the whole thing.

[sunnykerr]

China's arsenic contamination risk is assessed Nearly 20 million people in China could be exposed to water contaminated with arsenic, a study suggests. Scientists used information about the geology of the country to predict the areas most likely to be affected by the poison. The report is published in the journal Science. Arsenic occurs naturally in the Earth's crust, but if it leaches into groundwater, long-term exposure can cause serious health risks. These include skin problems and cancers of the skin, lungs, bladder and kidney. Geological maps Until now, estimating the scale of arsenic contamination in large countries has been difficult. China is thought to have more than 10 million drinking wells, and each needs to be screened to establish whether any toxic compounds are present. This process could take decades. Instead, researchers from Switzerland and China looked at geological maps of the country. Dr Annette Johnson, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG) and a co-author of the study, explained: "In the last few years the amount of geospatial information - electronic maps - that's become available is large. You have information such as climate data, land use, and distance to the river or elevation." Using this information, and by looking at the types of rocks present in the country, and in particular their age, the researchers pinpointed the regions where the toxic element is most likely to be found. Their findings suggest that 19.6 million people in China could be exposed to unsafe levels in their drinking water, including some living in areas areas not previously thought to be at risk. Dr Johnson told the BBC World Service programme Science in Action: "They are areas along river basins where there is irrigation and agriculture, including areas that were known previously such as the Huhhot basin in Inner Mongolia, but there are also new areas in the central Sichuan province and along the east coast." The researchers say the findings could help the Chinese authorities with their well-screening programmes. Dr Johnson explained: "What it is very important to do is to go to the areas that are hotspots and screen those first. The chances are you will find more contaminated wells than wells that are not contaminated. "And in the other areas, you still have to make sure you do screening for arsenic, but it is probably not such a high priority." Wells that are contaminated could be either treated or taken out of use, she added. The researchers believe this new prediction method could used elsewhere around the world. Arsenic contamination of groundwater is found in central Europe, South America, parts of the US and Asia. But one country that could benefit is Bangladesh, where arsenic poisoning has been described by the World Health Organization as a "public health emergency". It is estimated that between 35 million and 77 million people there are at risk of drinking contaminated water.

Source

It's probably not connected to China's massive pollution problem, but it just makes everything seem worse, doesn't it?

At first, I didn't really get the big deal. Arsenic, in low quantities, is not a problem.

But, duh, if it's the water, then it leads to a far stronger consumption of arsenic over time.

[sunnykerr]

Manitoba, Ontario pledge funds to help keep ELA open The Manitoba government has pledged nearly $1 million to assist the Winnipeg-based International Institute for Sustainable Development as it negotiates the takeover of a renowned experimental water research area in northwestern Ontario. Premier Greg Selinger made the announcement in Kenora early Monday as Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne also advanced her government's plan to spend $2 million a year to keep the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) open on an interim basis as a long-term deal over its future gets hammered out. Selinger said funding the ELA is vital to help solve problems surrounding Lake Winnipeg and other waterways. "The ELA will be invaluable to helping us solve the complex issues surrounding the health of Lake Winnipeg and basin waterways challenges," Selinger said in a statement. "Stable long-term funding is critical for the nationally and internationally important work that is conducted at this facility." Manitoba's pledge to the IISD is a funding deal worth more than $6 million over five years, with $900,000 dedicated toward research and technological advancements at the ELA. The remote region has been used since 1968 for fundamental freshwater studies. Ottawa announced last year that it was closing the area to save $2 million annually, prompting critics to accuse the Conservatives of hacking away at environmental science. Wynne had said the province would help with operating costs, along with Manitoba. The funding announced Monday will allow the facility to remain open while the organization hashes out a long-term agreement with Ontario and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, officials said. The transitional arrangement between the three parties means that fish and water monitoring of the lakes will continue to the end of the 2013 field season. It also means that operational and scientific knowledge will be effectively passed on to the IISD, Wynne's statement said. "Today is a good day for science," IISD president Scott Vaughan said in a statement. "We are pleased to have reached an interim agreement that ensures the important scientific research at the Experimental Lakes Area will continue to inform Canada and the world and will continue to provide valuable scientific knowledge critical to manage freshwater resources in a sustainable way." Wynne, meanwhile, said the investment would help make Ontario a world-class destination for scientific research. "The research performed here provides invaluable knowledge about climate change and helps protect freshwater systems around the world," she said.

Source

I think investing in sustainable-development research is the very definition of a sound investment.

Of course, the Canadian federal government... seems to have other ideas.

[quaist]

US NSA and UK GCHQ 'can spy on smartphones' The US National Security Agency (NSA) is reported have cracked the security codes which protect data on iPhones, Blackberries and Android devices. German news weekly Der Spiegel says documents suggest the NSA and the British GCHQ made joint efforts to gather intelligence. Teams looked at each phone to crack its privacy codes, Der Spiegel said. Saturday saw thousands of demonstrators in Berlin demand that the NSA stop monitoring internet users. Codes unlocked The documents Spiegel has seen do not show whether or not there has been mass surveillance of phone use. Once the intelligence teams had unlocked the codes, agencies could read a user's contacts and lists of who had been called. The BBC's Steve Evans in Berlin says the reports do seem to indicate that the British and American security agencies have the ability to read private communications beyond what might have previously been thought possible - or desirable by those who fear the intrusion of the state. The magazine did not explain how it had obtained the documents. But one of the authors of the article, Laura Poitras, is an American filmmaker with close contacts to the NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden. 'Champagne' According to the documents seen by Der Spiegel, the Canadian manufacturer of Blackberry phones began using a new method to compress the data in May 2009. Intelligence agents were unable to access some information on BlackBerry phones for about a year afterwards, the Associated Press news agency said. Der Spiegel's article said that GCHQ then cracked the problem, too - and analysts celebrated their achievement with the word "Champagne". A stream of recent revelations about international data surveillance has ignited a heated debate in Germany about the country's co-operation with the United States in intelligence matters.

I guess there's not much that could be done about it.

They'll always find ways to spy on every technical device that's new after some time

[sunnykerr]

I sort of assumed this was already going on.

To the point where I didn't realize it wasn't a known thing.

I don't know if that makes me paranoid or what.

[quaist]

I kinda thought so, too.

What shocked me though, was Daniel Domscheit-Berg (the former Wikileaks spokesman) suggesting in an interview a few months ago that smartphones can actually be used as bugs.

Hadn't really thought of that possibility before.

[sunnykerr]

See, the thing is I don't understand anything about smartphones.

So I hadn't thought of them being used as bugs before either.

But, at the same time, it's not a shock to me that they may have functions that I didn't know about.

Because everything they do is basically beyond me, you know?