Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Meat from Poop - Really Japan?

Remember that scene in “Demolition Man” where Sylvester Stalone’s character eats a rat burger and likes it? Thinks he’d feel the same way if he ate human excrement in the form of a burger?
A team of Japanese researchers lead by Mitsuyuki Ikeda of the Okayama Laboratory have created a way through which the biological process of consuming food then passing it can be cyclical. Yes, they’ve created a way to make edible “meat” out of human excrememnt.
This novel and very disgusting concept was discovered when Ikeda was asked to look at the various possible uses of sewage. Instead of complaining over having a really terrible job, he discovered that it contains a great deal of protein due to the bacteria that populates it.
Sounds kind of gross, huh? But it’s not like the “meat” is created by taking poop and squishing it into a patty. The process involves extracting the proteins from the sewage, combining them with a “reaction enhancer” (whatever that is), and putting it in an “exploder.” Magical science-y stuff ensues and VOILA! You have poop meat.
Once created, the “meat” is colored red and the flavor is enhanced with soy protein. The finished product is broken down as follows: 63% proteins, 25% carbs, 3% lipids, and 9% minerals. Yes, this is all well and good, but how does it taste?
According to initial reports, it actually tastes like beef. Of course, the hardest part is getting people to eat it. According to Professor Ikeda, there are “psychological barriers that need to be surmounted knowing that your food is made from human feces.” The ultimate goal, then, is to convince people that eating a poop burger isn’t all bad and will consider the environmental impact when making the decision between meat made from animals and meat made from poop.
Right now the product costs 10-20 times the price of normal meat, though this is due to the cost of the research. With luck (and I use that term loosely) “poop burgers” and every variation of this bizarre creation will be priced the same as their natural counterparts.
The “meat” will also have fewer calories, but when you’re eating poop I’m sure that’s the least of your worries.

8 comments:

  1. that is gross!! i guess it would be good for school cafeterias and prisons as long as you dont tell anyone they're eating poo!

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  2. I don't think I would even sample that stuff.

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  3. Uh who would eat that?

    But then again our water we drink is recycled so we cant really say anything

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  4. Wow...I mean, I guess I'd try it, but...wow. That's...I mean...just...wow.

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  5. I've heard of using recycled water, but this.......

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  6. Honestly, I watched the video twice and I'm still not sure what to think of it...
    Well, the only thought was, I won't have to eat it hopefully and more variety for the veggies out there... maybe?

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  7. ...looks like kebab meat...-never eats kebab again-

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