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Cocoon food grower wins Electrolux Design Contest
There comes a time in every writer's life when he or she is faced with a conundrum: how to disarm an unwanted double entendre. And this, campers, is the problem I face with last night's victor of the Electrolux Design Contest. The Cocoon cooker (okay so far) is a great example of forward-thinking tech (yuh, still good) — a food generator (uh-huh) that *cough* lets you grow your own meat.
See? There's nothing I can do to make that last phrase sound acceptable. The brains behind this idea — nothing that Trekkies haven't fantasized about yet — is a Swede of the non-boilable or mashable type who goes by the name of Rickard Hederstierna. He thinks that the Cocoon could make food shortages a thing of the past. "This will create 100 per cent pure meat without the need for animals to be killed and with no risk of contamination," said the 27-year-old. "It will change everything."
The design, described as "controversial" by one of the judges, is made of glass, and works by cooking pre-mixed packets of muscle cells, oxygen and nutrients. I know, it sounds just too oddball to be true — until you discover what future invention the Cocoon beat to win the contest: a fridge that teleports food from around the world. Now, teleport yourself below the jump to see a video.
Via Daily Mail
By roffe at 6:56 AM ON 09/25/09
thought about this concept myself (althought less jewelry-like) and i can really picture us having something like this in the not-too-distant future.
not sure how educated Rickard is in the field of bioengineering but my understanding is that there's still a ton of obstacles to overcome before we can grow meat which comes close to being equivalent with the real thing.
By sig at 7:59 AM ON 09/25/09
There is a Tree that grows money too....its legal in California
By kati at 11:14 AM ON 10/05/09
My first thought is, how healthy could this possibly be? And secondly, what does the salmon inside the packet look like once it's ready for harvesting?
By Leiana at 3:49 PM ON 10/05/09
This is thought provoking and disturbing at the same time. If they can grow meat can they grow human organs for people who need a transplant?
By Paul at 5:54 PM ON 10/05/09
"Growing" a pound of meat, or a closely-related flesh-like substance, seems that it would be a bit less complicated than growing a functioning, complex organ. I'm not a bioengineer, though, so I could be completely wrong.
By davvi at 9:55 PM ON 10/05/09
Paul-they grow skin and tissue in a lab and may soon be able to grow organs.
By chibi at 12:11 AM ON 10/08/09
i saw a similar thing a few months ago. if this is to become a viable source of meat, than a lot more work still is to come
davvi - organs are already being grown in labs, the first heart is due to be available in the coming months
By Trekkie at 6:18 PM ON 10/12/09
one step closer to food replicators!
:D
By Wilma at 9:16 PM ON 10/18/09
My fetus is better than yours, I can teach you, but i have to charge.
By Santa Clause at 9:09 PM ON 10/24/09
Have you ever heard of conservation of mass??? Cannot create something out of nothing.
By LaserLiza at 7:09 PM ON 12/08/09
I can't help feeling a little skeptical about this. Still, if it can help stop world hunger AND make me not have to feel guilty about not being a vegetarian, I say go for it!
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LaserLiza:
I can't help feeling a little skeptical about this. Still, if it can help stop world hunger AND make me not have to...More »