Oh, those scientists, with their fake meat

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Well, it's not really fake meat, just... different:

The world's first lab-grown burger has been cooked and eaten at a news conference in London.

Scientists took cells from a cow and, at an institute in the Netherlands, turned them into strips of muscle that they combined to make a patty.

One food expert said it was "close to meat, but not that juicy" and another said it tasted like a real burger.

Researchers say the technology could be a sustainable way of meeting what they say is a growing demand for meat.

The burger was cooked by chef Richard McGeown, from Cornwall, and tasted by food critics Hanni Ruetzler and Josh Schonwald.

As one who does not eat red meat -- I call myself a flexitarian -- I really want this to work. Not just for myself, of course, but as a way to deal with the problem of hunger and food shortage worldwide.

Actually, I don't really want to eat lab-grown meat. At least I don't think I do -- maybe. And so this isn't so much about people like me, or about vegetarians/vegans, or whatever. There are ample other choices for us. Sure, if they could "grow" beef that really tastes and smells and feels like beef, then fine, it might be a worthwhile option. But it really doesn't seem all that appetizing:

Upon tasting the burger, Austrian food researcher Ms Ruetzler said: "I was expecting the texture to be more soft... there is quite some intense taste; it's close to meat, but it's not that juicy. The consistency is perfect, but I miss salt and pepper.

"This is meat to me. It's not falling apart."

Food writer Mr Schonwald said: "The mouthfeel is like meat. I miss the fat, there's a leanness to it, but the general bite feels like a hamburger.

"What was consistently different was flavour."

Prof Mark Post, of Maastricht University, the scientist behind the burger, remarked: "It's a very good start."

Yes, and very encouraging. Again, to the extent this can help combat hunger and provide nourishing food to those who need it, I'm all for it. And I do want it to work -- for that, as well as to help combat the problem of animal cruelty in the food industry. I'd much rather have meat grown in a lab than acquired through the appalling mass slaughter of animals that is the current way of doing things.

It will take a while -- to get the product right, which might be easy enough, then to change people's minds, a much harder task -- but it's well worth it.

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How much could McDonald's pay workers?

By Frank Moraes

On Monday, The Huffington Post published an article claiming that McDonald's could double its wages and it would only increase the price of their offerings by 17%. So instead of a McDouble being $1.29, it would be $1.51. The understandable response to this was, "That doesn't sound that bad to provide a living wage to McDonald's workers." It turns out that it isn't quite so simple, but as you will see, I'll show that it still works out about the same.

The original article was called "Doubling McDonald's Salaries Would Cause Your Big Mac To Cost Just 68¢ More." Unlike most news outlets, however, instead of just adding an update, they've replaced that article with a full discussion of what was wrong with the article. In the simplest terms, the whole thing was more or less a prank. A student at the University of Kansas did a back of the envelope calculation. McDonald's entire employment costs are indeed only 17% of their operating budget. The problem is that most of the workforce costs are not due to the corporation but rather the 80% of all the stores that are franchises. Of these franchises, roughly a third of their expenses are due to workforce costs. So that $1.29 McDouble would cost $1.72.

But again, it isn't that simple. The Huffington Post quotes Dean Baker on two related issues. First: doubling wages would doubtless cause some layoffs. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Increased work costs have a tendency to make employers more efficient in how they use their labor force. What's more, the increased wages would attracted better employees. The second issue is more important. Increased labor costs are generally shared between increased prices and decreased profits—with profits getting hit twice as hard as the prices. (I talk about this all the time!) So if labor costs go up by one dollar, the cost will go up 33 cents and profits will go down by 67 cents.

If that's the case, then a 33% jump in labor costs (double the current cost) would cause an increase in McDonald's food prices of 11%. So our McDouble would go up from $1.29 to $1.43. That would be even better than the Kansas prankster suggested. But again: it isn't that simple. I suspect that McDonald's is already extremely efficient with a very low profit margin. So that rule of thumb 1-2 costs-profits number may be a little or even a lot optimistic. But it most certainly isn't the case, as the Huffington Post now claims, that the price of McDonald's food will go up a full 33%.

The real question here is not if McDonald's can afford to pay all of its employees double the minimum wage. Strikers are asking for this, but it is clearly a negotiating tactic that President Obama would be smart to study. What all of this math shows is that McDonald's could increase their pay rate. In fact, raising it up to $10 per hour would probably have a negligible affect on prices and business viability.

H/T: The Young Turks

(Cross-posted at Frankly Curious.)

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Vimeo of the Day: "The Fruit Hunters"

By Michael J.W. Stickings

I read yesterday at The Atlantic about a 2012 documentary called The Fruit Hunters. It's a Canadian production, but somehow I missed it -- maybe because it got little attention at the time.

Below is the trailer, and here's the description:

Exotic fruit obsessives, adventurers, detectives and even movie star Bill Pullman are the subjects of the dizzying new film from acclaimed director Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze, China Heavyweight). A cinematic odyssey through nature and commerce that spans prehistory to the present, The Fruit Hunters will change not only the way we look at what we eat but how we view our relationship to the natural world. 

I love fruit. A lot. And I want to see this doc. And to eat as much of this glorious fruit as possible.

(By the way, Up the Yangtze, which I have seen, is excellent. Sad and depressing, but excellent.)

The Fruit Hunters - Official Trailer : in theaters November 23, 2012 from EyeSteelFilm on Vimeo.

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Vimeo of the Day: Mexican Cuisine

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Here's a remarkable, award-winning short film about "the taste of immigration in California," showing just what Mexican immigrants mean to the diverse food culture of that state (and, of course, of America generally):

Mexican Cuisine from Fran Guijarro on Vimeo.

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