As a vegetarian, I don't think this is a "loophole" for us to eat meat.
The first reason I became vegetarian was because of the environmental impact. The amount of greenhouse gas created by animal agriculture is huge compared to plant agriculture just in terms of fossil fuels required to create the meat. But you add in all the methane produced by the animals and animal agriculture becomes one of the largest factors in GHG production. On top of that you have all of the biowaste coming from the animals... much of the animal sewage goes untreated. How many times a year do you hear of sewage lagoons leaking into local water supplies? The Walkerton tragedy was caused by cow manure getting into the drinking water supply. Speaking of drinking water supply, HALF of the water used in a year goes towards animal agriculture. Not just for the animals to drink, but also to produce their feed.
If we could produce meat that doesn't do the environmental damage that current agriculture does, then that removes my primary reason for not eating meat.
My secondary reason for not eating meat is because of the cruelty common to animal agriculture. Not just the killing floor, I'm talking about being kept in cramped quarters for their entire lives. Factory farming is absolute torture on these animals.
So with my ethical objections gone, I don't see it as a "loophole" to eat meat grown in a lab.
As for whether farm animals would end up going extinct.... the reason we protect animals from extinction is to protect biodiversity in the natural world. We don't want to see bees go extinct because they provide a service to the natural world (pollination). We don't want to see polar bears go extinct because they provide a service to the natural world (consume animals like seals and keep their population in check). Domesticated farm animals have been removed from the natural world and genetically modified into beasts far removed from what nature intended (I'm sure nature didn't mean for chickens to have bulky breasts such that they can't stand up as their legs cannot support them). I think it would be the HUMANE thing to have these species die out. They do not contribute to biodiversity. And the natural versions - the wild pigs, wild cattle that roam India - will all continue to exist.
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