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Lab-Grown Salmon Hits the Menu at an Oregon Restaurant as the FDA Greenlights the Cell-Cultured Product (www.smithsonianmag.com)

submitted 5 days ago by Sunshine@lemmy.ca to c/vegan@slrpnk.net

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[–] stabby_cicada@slrpnk.net 2 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

The definition of veganism, from the Vegan Society:

Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment.

Please note the italics.

Living without modern medicine fits squarely within "not possible or practicable" because you can literally die without it. If you refuse vaccines or treatment for contagious diseases, it's even more compelling, because you're not only risking your life but the lives of others.

On the other hand, it is completely possible and practicable to live without lab-grown meat, so "were animals exploited to create this product" is a much more relevant consideration.

[–] Lumisal@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Then does that mean you can't take pain killers of any kind? What about birth control for the primary use case?

And based on that definition, it would sound then this Salmon would be allowed, even if a few were killed, because it would prevent the permanent suffering of billions of future salmon.

[–] stabby_cicada@slrpnk.net 3 points 4 days ago

Pain - especially chronic pain - can shorten one's life significantly, never mind one's quality of life. And people die from giving birth. It's possible to refuse those meds but I wouldn't call it exactly practical.

But really, what possible and practicable mean differs from vegan to vegan, the same way "thou shalt not kill" differs among different Christians. And it's the same with lab grown meat. There is a possible ethical consideration based on the sourcing of cell lines; some vegans may oppose lab grown meat based on that, other vegans might decide it's perfectly fine, still others would personally refuse to eat it but encourage its development for the sake of harm mitigation. Who knows. Put five vegans in a room and you'll have six different opinions.