So-called alt-meat, grown from cells and grown in laboratory-like facilities, has experienced regulatory and market success in fits and starts. But it remains a major threat to traditional livestock farming. And several states are willing to save the livestock industry by banning alt-meat entirely.
Three states have already passed laws restricting or completely banning cultured meat.
The first was the Florida bill signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis on May 1. It makes it illegal for anyone in Florida to produce, possess or offer for sale or distribution farmed meat.
Six days later, Alabama passed a bill banning alt-meat. It will come into effect on October 1.
Iowa, the third state to take action, did so with legislation that would ban lab-grown food from being labeled as meat.
More states appear to be ready to introduce bills that will ensure that alternative meats have fewer places available.
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen is the latest to announce that he is working with his state’s unicameral legislature to make the sale of lab-grown meat illegal. In the meantime, Pillen signed an executive order banning state agencies and contractors from spending state money on lab-grown meat.
Nebraska’s governor said the executive order is a step toward a blanket ban. He also directed the Nebraska Department of Agriculture to initiate a regulatory process to prevent cultured meat from ever being marketed as traditional meat in the state.
Nebraska will likely become at least the fourth state to ban or severely restrict cultured meat by 2025, but it is unlikely to be the only state.
House Bill 5872 has already been introduced in the Illinois Legislature for consideration in 2025. Rep. Chris Miller, R-Charleston, has introduced the “Illinois Cultivated Meat Act” to ban the production or sale of alternative meat products in the state and make producing or selling cultured meat a crime.
The Congressional Research Service is the source of an overview on alt-meat. In part it says:
“Cell-cultured meat is developed and grown in a laboratory from a sample of animal cells, which does not require the slaughter of animals. Developing cell-cultured meat involves five steps: (1) taking a biopsy of animal cells, (2) storing cells, (3) cell growth, (4) harvesting, and (5) food processing.
“The first cell-cultured meat product developed for human consumption was created in 2013 by a scientist from Maastricht University in the Netherlands. In 2022, the US Drug and Food Administration (FDA) granted a pre-market review and approval for two companies, GOOD Meat and UPSIDE Foods, to sell cell-cultured chicken in US markets.
“On June 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued the first-ever inspection permits for the two companies to produce cultured chicken at their facilities and label their products as ‘cell-cultured chicken.’
“This was the first time that FDA and USDA regulators allowed companies to produce cell-cultured meat products for sale in the United States. In
In July 2023, UPSIDE Foods and GOOD Meat sold the first cell-cultured chicken in restaurants in San Francisco and Washington, DC, respectively.
The USDA and the FDA jointly regulate the production and labeling of the new food products. More than 150 companies worldwide are involved in the cell-cultured meat industry, 43 of which are in the United States. The United States and Singapore are the only countries where cell-cultured meat products can be sold to consumers.
Between 2010 and 2022, cell-cultured meat and seafood research and development received $3 billion in private and public donations, including $5 million from the National Science Foundation and $12 million from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Most of the government money has gone to research universities.
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