Ouroboros
steak is a new
technology where isolated human cells are kept through certain culture medium
to grow them. That's enable users to culture their own cells. A group of
American scientists and designers have developed this concept for a
grow-your-own meat kit using human cells and blood. Ouroboros Steak are small
pieces of meat-protein grown from human cells with an elegant dinner
setting.
This is a great thought
where by studying your own cells, your own food will be satisfied. As result,
no other animals will be harmed.
People think that eating
oneself is cannibalism but eating Ouroboros Steak is not technically
cannibalism.
 |
Ouroboros Steak (grown from Human Cells) |
What are
problems we are facing with growing demand of animal meats?
If we continue
at the rate at which we are killing animals, the day will come when these
animals will become extinct on earth. The variety of life on Earth is called
biodiversity. As a result, the earth's biodiversity will be lost.
Biodiversity is
crucial for enabling us to live and stay healthy. If we reduce the amount of
biodiversity there, leading many species to extinction, we cannot expect that
nature will be able to provide these things for us.
The steak
claims to reduce the need for other animal meat products. As a result, the
animals we eat can be saved.
How the idea
of the Ouroboros Steak came to the public?
The Ouroboros
Steak was first shown at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in exhibition, created
using human cell culture. To increase people's curiosity, the scientists and
designers didn't taste this meat.
The exhibition
was later exhibited at the London Museum also. The goal of placing steaks
raised from human cells at the Design Museum in London was to criticize the
growing use of living cells from animals in the meat industry. This sparked a
brilliant debate about the harms of biotics and artistic criticism.
How does the
concept actually work?
The ouroboros
steak is a DIY meal kit designed by Andrew Pelling, Orkan Telhan and Grace
knight. As part of the DIY kit, the team envisions users collecting cells from
the inside of their own cheek using a cotton swab and depositing them into
pre-grown scaffolds made from mushroom mycelium. These are then stored in a
warm environment for around three months, while being fed with serum from old
donated blood until fully grown.
| Ouroboros Steak |
Why the name
Ouroboros?
According to
Britannica, Ouroboros, emblematic serpent of ancient Egypt and Greece
represented with its tail in its mouth, continually devouring itself and being
reborn from itself. A gnostic and alchemical symbol, Ouroboros expresses the
unity of all things, material and spiritual, which never disappear but
perpetually change form in an eternal cycle of destruction and re-creation.
Here Ouroboros
Steak (which, in a dark twist), named after the ancient symbol of the snake
eating its own tail, reducing the need for other animals by drawing in human
blood and cells in the same way.
Feedback from
prominent individuals and society
According to
Orkan Telhan, associate professor of fine arts at Penn’s Weitzman School of
Design, “our design is scientifically and economically feasible but also ironic
in many ways. We are not actually promoting ‘eating ourselves’ as realistic
solution that will fix humans protein needs.
Lastly, we
rather ask a question: what would be the sacrifices we need to make to be able
to keep consuming meat at the pace that we are? In the future, who will be able
to afford animal meat and who may have no other option than culturing meat from
themselves?
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Reference
The Design
Museum - https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/beazley-designs-of-the-year/product/ouroboros-steak
Grace Knight
- http://www.gracemknight.com/ouro-steak
Encyclopædia
Britannica - https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ouroboros
Thanks for reading! Warm wishes from me - Souvik Mondal
How is it? Please do comments!
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