Would you eat 3D printed meat?

An American start-up company has a solution for people who want to eat meat, but don't want to harm animals either: 3D printed meat.

3D printing is already being used to create things from bike parts to chocolate to dental crowns and bridges. And scientists are working towards using 3D printing to make organs for transplant.


But Modern Meadow wants to take 3D printing one step further. The startup received a grant today that could be worth up to $350,000 from the Thiel Foundation's Breakout Labs fund, the philanthropic company started by billionaire Peter Thiel, one of the co-founders of PayPal. (The foundation doesn't say exactly how much they gave Modern Meadow, and refused to confirm to CNET what the exact amount is.)


According to the foundation's release, Modern Meadow plans to "apply the latest advances in tissue engineering beyond medicine to produce novel consumer biomaterials, including an edible cultured meat prototype that can provide a humane and sustainable source of animal protein to consumers around the world."

Apparently it's not just printed steak the company is after, but leather goods as well. 
   
Despite the grant, any type of printable meat that would actually be edible is still a long way off. As CNET points out, Modern Meadow is aiming to start with a piece of meat that's about two centimetres long and one centimetre wide. Not exactly a full steak for dinner.

There's more information on the project on the USDA website. 
So what do you think? Is 3D meat a good idea? Take our poll and then continue the discussion in the comments below.