Chapter 144: Cultured Meat (10)

Jake, a farmer who owned a corn farm in Michigan, sat in his field for thirty minutes. Last night, the ears of hundreds of corn suddenly began to turn dark red and go bad. He felt uneasy since then, but his entire field was devastated by the morning.

...

He didnt care about the last rally before the legislative debate; his harvest for this year was about to be destroyed. A much deeper issue than all the protests and marches they had done had occurred.

The battle between the traditional livestock industry and cultured meat? All of the feed for livestock in those traditional livestock industries was about to be cut off.

A food crisis in ten years? A crisis would start in the United States next year, as half of the entire corn production in the country was used for livestock feed. All of that was about to disappear. Then, the price of livestock feed would naturally increase, and so would the price of meat. That was the problem for livestock farmers, but it was even worse for corn farmers.

Jake!

Someone from behind shouted. Pendleton, an old friend of Jakes, was driving his truck over.

So? Did they have any treatments at American Farmer? Jake asked.

American Farmer was the most famous distributor of agricultural supplies. They bought pesticides from pharmaceutical companies and supplied them to farmers.

No.

Pendleton shook his head.

What about Husbandry?

Someone already bought all of it.

Right

But they only had about ten thousand liters. They said it was sold out last night.

Damn it.

Jake let out a deep sigh.

Damn it!

Jake kicked the wheels of the truck.

Lets go in now, Jake.

I failed last year, Jake said in a depressed voice.

...

Our crops failed last year, too! Im the fxxking idiot for listening to the axxholes at the USDA[1] and not using resistant seeds! Jake shouted.

... Since the harvest decreases a lot if you use resistant seeds. We were greedy. Who can we blame?

I thought they had it completely contained.

Everyone thought so. Its not our fault.

Pendleton patted Jake on the shoulder.

How the hell did it spread

Apparently, there was some left in the wheat fields, Pendleton said.

Really?

You know Winterwheat Company in the winter wheat fields? The first red mold-infected seed came out from one of their farms. The department heard about that and investigated it, and it turned out to be the origin.

Winterwheat. Did those idiots even contain it?

They did. But the investigator missed that spot because they didnt plant wheat there last year.

What? How could the fungus be there if there was no wheat?

It was a bit damp, and the red mold was left there as a filamentous body in between the moss in the dirt.

Oh

And when they planted wheat in that spot this year, it got infected and became the first infected seed. The USDA thinks it started from there because its the exact same thing that spread last year.

Sigh

How much did you lose last year?

About three hundred thousand dollars.

You think its going to be worse this time?

I am going to go bankrupt at this rate. Its over.

...

Its not just small farmers like us that are going to get crushed. All the big agriculture corporations will take a hit as well. They are all in trouble.

Both of them dropped their heads in despair.

Jake! Pendleton!

Another truck was headed their way. It was their friend who also owned a farm.

Look at the news! Watch the announcement from the USDA!

* * *

The USDA and the White House who were under attack due to the cultured meat industry took this opportunity to turn the tables. The USDA was competent, and they had to rebuild their image. The USDA never ignored farmers and people in the livestock industry; that image and their credibility needed to be restored.

The USDA has always been committed to protecting the livelihood and property of existing farmers and livestock workers, Anthony said. The USDA dismissed the possibility when Doctor Ryu warned us of the spread of red mold in the central regions. However, we felt that we had to consider the huge damages that farmers would suffer if the USDA was wrong.

Anthony deeply thanked Young-Joon in his head as he stood in front of the reporters flashing cameras.

Doctor Ryu Young-Joon proposed to supply the USDA with a large amount of red mold treatment, and after much consideration, we accepted the proposal and signed the contract on the thirteenth, about nine days ago. A-Gen has produced about one hundred times more than their usual amount, and we have already secured inventory. We are going to supply the treatment to farmers in the central and western regions, Anthony said.

Also, we deeply apologize for not being able to prevent the outbreak before it happened, even though Doctor Ryu warned us about this situation.

* * *

There was silence in the hall where the legislative hearing was being held. The congressman had never seen the hall be this quiet. It was obvious, but they could not broadcast Anthonys press conference while the legislative hearing was proceeding. However, the focus of most of the citizens sitting in the audience had already slipped away from cultured meat. They all had their phones out and were watching Anthonys press conference.

Red mold is here?

People began whispering amongst themselves. They quickly searched through the news.

A heavy silence fell over the room. Even those in favor of cultured meat and supporters of Young-Joon were extremely shocked at what had happened. Public opinion had changed completely. Posts shocked about the incident were pouring in.

Then can the red mold in the central and western regions be treated?

They say that the treatment itself is easy. They just have to spray it like youre spraying pesticides from an aircraft. They say the plants can be recovered because its still in the early stages of infection.

A national crisis happened last year because we didnt have enough treatment, but this time we can prevent it.

How the hell did the AI do it?

The AI predicted that a dormant red mold that showed no symptoms would show up and wipe out the entire Midwest?

Then is the food crisis real? That will come in just ten years?

Isnt it just that Ryu Young-Joon used the artificial intelligence program well? Not that the artificial intelligence program is good?

Ryu Young-Joon also analyzed the food crisis theory by the same artificial intelligence program. Tanya Manker also had the same results.

I cant believe red mold actually came

The USDA made a mistake in not preventing or predicting it, but its a relief that they listened to Ryu Young-Joon and bought the cure at the last minute.

* * *

D-Doctor Ryu! Did you not spread it?! Steven shouted.

Everyones attention was drawn to Young-Joon.

Me?

Young-Joon tilted his head in confusion.

How?

... Perhaps you brought spores

Red mold spores can only survive in air for about four hours. It takes over ten hours by airplane to get from Korea to the United States.

Or you brought an infected plant

I would have been reported at the airport if I had brought in a live, infected plant. You can check my immigration records.

... But

Or do you want to say that I created and spread a completely contained fungus after I entered the United States?

...

Ive been advising the Department of Agriculture on this red mold outbreak for a few days now and have been given a detailed explanation. There is a separate origin of the outbreak. We can figure this out after the hearing since this is a hearing about cultured meat, not red mold, Young-Joon said.

The audience murmured. They were already talking about Winterwheat. They were already on Young-Joons side; they were astonished by his incredible insight in predicting this huge agricultural crisis and the powerful analytical capabilities of artificial intelligence.

First member of the affirmative party of the cultured meat restriction bill, please present your opening statement.

The speaker began the legislative hearing. It was Stevens turn to speak. As he stood up, Young-Joon glanced at him with a notebook and pen in his hands. Steven picked up his statement with trembling hands.

He had purchased cultured meat from Tekeyson Foods before, and he produced negative data on cultured meat. He had a lot of data prepared, but he could not speak. If Young-Joon did not spread it himself, how could the accuracy and timing of his predictions be this good? Steven felt terror. Young-Joon seemed like a shaman who could make it rain with a prayer, or a strategist who could predict dozens of moves ahead with his amazing strategic abilities. To Steven, Young-Joon did not look human anymore.

C-Cultured meat is created in the same way cancer cells are made.

Stuttering, Steven began his statement.

Cultured meat is grown in a dangerous environment with growth hormones. That originates from Kochia leaves. And cultured meat can also be infected with bacteria or viruses because it is grown in a nutrient-rich culture. If we eat cultured meat, we are eating that as well, Steven said. And cultured meat is created from stem cells. Like cancer cells, stem cells have the ability to divide indefinitely. Theres no guarantee that stem cells wont go into your body and become cancerous.

Stevens statement went on for about fifteen minutes.

Thank you. First member of the negative party of the cultured meat restriction bill, please cross-question.

The legislative hearing, a variation on the Karl Popper debate method, was where each side presented a speaker and took turns asking questions about the speaker.

Young-Joon stood up and began his cross-questioning.

You stated that cultured meat is dangerous because it contains growth hormones, is that correct?

... Yes, Steven replied with a shaky voice.

Do you know where that growth hormone comes from?

I understand that it comes from Kochia leaves.

Do you know that Kochia leaves are consumed for food?

... I do not know.

It is commonly used for food in India and Pakistan. It is difficult for plant growth hormones to be active in living animal bodies when administered orally. The reason is because it cannot pass the stomach wall.

...

That is why people in India and Pakistan do not have any health problems even though they eat a lot of Kochia leaves. However, it is different when it is dissolved in cell cultures. The growth hormone can act on and divide cultured meat because the receptors are all exposed at the cellular level. This means that the hormone is effective in cultured meat, but it has no effect in the human stomach, Young-Joon said. The hormone does not enter our body as the culture medium containing it is removed during processing, but even if it does, it is a food used in India and Pakistan.

...

Furthermore, cultured meat is also very unlikely to be infected with bacteria or viruses because it is grown in a sterilized space. Let me ask you, Steven. Are the barns where traditional livestock farmers raise their cows, pigs, and chickens, sterile? When you handle the animals, do you use equipment that has been sterilized at high temperature and pressure using equipment like autoclaves?

... No.

Do you install HEPA filters and air barriers in your barns to control air coming in from the outside, and do you use floor adhesive pads to remove contaminants from under your feet?

... No.

Then, do you sterilize empty barns with UV light and OPA-based disinfectants?

Do farmers wear sterile clothing, masks, goggles, waterproof boots, and hair caps when they enter the barn to feed or care for livestock?

...

Watching Young-Joons attack, Diego whispered to Mckinney, Steven looks like hes going to cry any minute

Young-Joon went on.

The medium in which we grow our cultured meat contains indicators, so any virus or bacterial infection is reported immediately. The cultured meat tanks are basically automatically diagnosed twenty-four hours. Does a system like that exist in your barn?

... No, it does not.

You claimed that eating stem cells can cause them to become cancerous in the body, is that correct?

...

Is that correct?

Yes

Are you certain?

Steven covered his face with his hands. In a pained voice, he replied, That is my understanding

Do you know that A-Bio uses stem cells to treat glaucoma?

... I did not know that.

We directly administer stem cells into the patients eye by injection when we treat glaucoma.

...

Four hundred thousand American patients were cured like that. Not one of them developed a tumor. Do you know why that is?

Steven replied that he did not know, but he knew. The stuff about stem cells and cancer was not to attack Young-Joon, but to scare the people who were watching this hearing on television since it would be beneficial to Steven if even one person believed it, no matter how many scientific explanations Young-Joon gave.

However, the scale had been tipped too much. The red mold that had emerged right before the hearing gave Young-Joon an enormous amount of power. Steven berated Young-Joon about acting like a prophet, but he actually became one.

We have developed a technology that automatically kills undifferentiated stem cells. This technology has also been applied to cultured meat, Young-Joon said.

To Steven, it sounded like Young-Joon was telling him that he was going to destroy him like Schumatix if he kept getting in the way.

Cultured meat is safe. Do you have any objections to my question so far? Young-Joon asked.

...

Steven dropped his head. Young-Joon turned to the speaker.

Thank you. I conclude the cross-questioning.

As Young-Joon went back to his seat and sat down, the speaker glanced at Steven, then said, First member of the negative party, please present your statement

It was Young-Joons turn again.

I will begin.

He walked over to the Foodscan machine.

1. United States Department of Agriculture