To the Editor:
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden released a $2 trillion climate plan that won praise from the previously-critical Sunrise Movement. Unfortunately, so far as I’m aware, the plan does not include funding for cultured-meat research. For those who don’t know, cultured meat is grown from cells, without slaughtering animals. It requires a fraction of the greenhouse-gas emissions that raising livestock does.
Dr. Mark Post created the first cultured-beef hamburger in 2013. It cost a whopping $280,000. Soon, he thinks, that price could be reduced to $10. Still, more research is required to make cultured meat economically viable. Politicians who hope to prevent climate change, like Biden, should support this goal, because animal agriculture is one of the most significant contributors to global warming.
Jon Hochschartner
Granby, Conn.
Jon:
Please don’t be offended by the less-than-reverent heading we put above your letter. Consider it an attempt by a stodgy old coot, struggling to come to grips with a future that’s weirder than he’d ever imagined.
The Editor