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The PETA X-meat prize is the single most important research project in the history of the world. It essentially touches on the issue of how to get life to minimally feed off other life.
I am working towards this prize right now. The US should stop wasting TRILLIONS of dollars on trying to go to Mars and instead re-focus big-science project money like that to solving the problem of synthesizing consciousless meat.

I have absolutely no respect for armchair theorists who ramble on and conjecture about hypothetical far-fetched dangers in the future of nanobots and robots taking over the world or the equally silly "ethical" and "moral" questions over "robot rights", when they refuse even to seriously address the current political issue of the unnecessary breeding, confinement, torture and murder of BILLIONS of innocent vegetarian cows, pigs and chickens each year, which can be eliminated by a simple change in one's habits and obsessions. My family, who also supports animals' rights, also are heavily into the practical battles of politics, as our complement to our science and engineering research, as part of a well-rounded life. We do not waste time with frivolous "moral" discussions about ridiculous conspiracy theories on the damage to society of biotechnology that only remotely might happen or definitely will happen but only in the distant future.

I met Ralph Nader in person in May 2008 during a fundraiser for his presidential campaign. In addition to his great work for the United States over five decades, he is a supporter of ending the torture in factory farms. I don't know if I will have to vote for him for a fourth time, in 2012, because I don't know if he will be well enough to run for president then, due to his age. But, I am sure that the struggle to solve the Peta X-Prize is ONE biotechnology project which Mr Nader WOULD support.