It's being called the "poop burger". Japanese scientists have found a way to create artificial meat from sewage containing human feces.

Somehow this feels like a Vonnegut plotline: population boom equals food shortage. Solution? Synthesize food from human waste matter. Absurd yes, but Japanese scientists have actually discovered a way to create edible steaks from human feces.

Mitsuyuki Ikeda, a researcher from the Okayama Laboratory, has developed steaks based on proteins from human excrement. Tokyo Sewage approached the scientist because of an overabundance of sewage mud. They asked him to explore the possible uses of the sewage and Ikeda found that the mud contained a great deal of protein because of all the bacteria.

The researchers then extracted those proteins, combined them with a reaction enhancer and put it in an exploder which created the artificial steak. The “meat” is 63% proteins, 25% carbohydrates, 3% lipids and 9% minerals. The researchers color the poop meat red with food coloring and enhance the flavor with soy protein. Initial tests have people saying it even tastes like beef.

Inhabitat notes that “the meatpacking industry causes 18 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions, mostly due to the release of methane from animals.” Livestock also consume huge amounts of resources and space in efforts to feed ourselves as well as the controversy over cruelty to animals. Ikeda’s recycled poop burger would reduce waste and emissions, not to mention obliterating Dante’s circle for gluttons.

The scientists hope to price it the same as actual meat, but at the moment the excrement steaks are ten to twenty times the price they should be thanks to the cost of research. Professor Ikeda understands the psychological barriers that need to be surmounted knowing that your food is made from human feces. They hope that once the research is complete, people will be able to overlook that ugly detail in favor of perks like environmental responsibility, cost and the fact that the meat will have fewer calories.

Waste not; want not.

In 5 years all McDonald's burgers will be like this (if they're not already).

Hey, what about all that precious urine and vomit just being flushed down the toilet? That could be turned into protein slurry (and menstrual blood? Mm-mmm). Good bye world thirst!

This is one of the most amazing, and disgusting things I have ever heard. I mean, potentially, this could solve world hunger forever.

Nobody here is down to eat some of this???

Hey, what about all that precious urine and vomit just being flushed down the toilet? That could be turned into protein slurry (and menstrual blood? Mm-mmm). Good bye world thirst!

I want one. Atoms are atoms. The atoms is your vegetarian food were likely poop atoms at some point too.

Wow, looks like the movies had it wrong... soylent green isn't made out of people, it's made out of their feces. Silly Charlton Heston

Macdonalds burgers are already made out of cow feces so it might be closer away than you think

I like this response... Although I may not be all for this.