Percepções de graduandos em Ciências Biológicas sobre a carne cultivada: um estudo a partir das questões sociocientíficas

Abstract

The meat production system used today by capitalist societies is in a position of unsustainability - for environmental, ethical and social reasons. Cultivated meat appears as a food alternative that aims to combat the impacts present in traditional meat production. It is done through the cultivation, proliferation and differentiation of animal muscle tissue in the laboratory. Its development and application involve technical and social aspects that often become controversial. Socio-scientific issues show themselves in this frontier of knowledge, provoking considerations about sustainability and decisions making at the collective and individual level. Thus, there is an interest in analyzing the perspectives of biology students on a topic that converges scientific and technological production as well as social-level solutions, such as cultivated meat. A questionnaire was carried out among undergraduate students of Biological Sciences at the Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos Campus, and based on it, personal aspects related to their diet and perceptions about cultivated meat and its controversies were observed and discussed. Of 27 participants, 81.5% consume meat at some level, and 18.5% consider themselves ovo-lactovegetarians, with family culture and concerns about the environment and health being the main motivations for this choice. Most undergraduates demonstrated to have knowledge about cultivated meat, including its form of production and ethical motivations. The study showed that students present a speech aligned with the approach of Science, Technology, Society and Environment (STSE) when faced with the controversies present in the topic of cultivated meat, which could be reaffirmed as a socio-scientific issue. This work can contribute to future research as new technologies emerge daily and socio-scientific aspects are important in the formation of biologists and teachers.