colonising another planet or star

This is a short extract from a page about 'artificial meat products' which I haven't had time to put on the OA site yet; it describes 'printed meat', which might be available in the relatively near future.

To achieve the goal of meat production, muscle and other flesh cells
are grown on a specially constructed biopolymer scaffold, which
replicates the natural extracellular matrix found in living animals.
This scaffold is generally printed using a rapid 3d printer device,
although several other related techniques such as foaming and self-
assembly are also used. Cultured cells are then implanted into the
scaffolding, and these cells are induced to bind together into
muscle-like or vascular tissue. Once the meat block, known as `slab',
is established, the tissue is supplied with nutrients and allowed to
grow by as much as 400% by volume before harvesting. To ensure the
slab has a healthy texture it is stimulated into regular
contractions, simulating exercise; the slab is attached at each end
to strain gauges to measure the force of contraction.

As well as beef, pork, chicken and lamb slab, many other meats are
grown including llama, kangaroo, horse, elephant, whale and
pheasant. Reptile, amphibian and fish slabs are popular, as are
various invertebrate tissue cultures. These cold-blooded meats use
less overall energy input to produce in many cases.

More exotic meats such as geneered sea-dragon, pterodactyl and
selected xenofauna are well-established speciality products, and
premarinated flesh is becoming increasingly popular. Cloned human
flesh is sometimes available, particularly personalised meat for
autophagists and the well known range of Klown Klone products which
allow the consumer to eat the celebrity of their choice.

 

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Urk

 

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I believe that the current status of artificial meat is that, though it has been done, it is extremly expensive per bite. As in the order of thousands of dollars. The sheer expense in creating it far outweigh the benefits it can have likely in the next century.

I would be shocked if it is ever found that it is more effective to make meat than harvest it from animals.

 

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On Earth we have large regions of pastoral land and even marginal upland which can be used to raise meat animals. If and when we attempt to colonise another planet or moon we will not have that luxury (or at least, not at first).

So artificial meat substitute (perhaps not grown in the way I have described, but more likely cobbled together from vat-grown vegetable or yeast proteins) will be more efficient.
Not exactly cordon bleu.

 

You forget, however, that animals also provide other materials that are useful for colonists. Milk, eggs, feathers, leather, fat, et cetera.

So I'd imagine they'd want to really get animals quickly. All that can be supremely useful.

I'd also imagine protein in non-animal fat form would be ultimately more efficient than processing meat.

 

Would be better if we self destruct here than tospread the current plague which is the human race around the galaxy/universe. We need to evolve spiritually into peaceful beings.
Peace

 

If you look at all the rigmarole involved, it sounds easier to just cart along some smaller meat animals and fish. Fish are good because they are already adapted to essentially weightless environments. There is also nutria, a rodent that is about the size of a poodle, has a lot of meat on it, and is too large to hide very well.

 

Fish are a good idea; I saw a scheme where a colony on the Moon was protected by large water tanks in the roof and walls, which absorbed most of the incoming radiation. These water tanks doubled as fishponds for food.

Other low maintenance animals might include chickens, and guinea pigs (there is an interesting picture of Jesus eating a guinea pig here from a South American church, by the way; totally irrelevant but rather curious, I think).

 

What do the fish eat?

 

Depends on the fish species.

 

plankton?