Florida and Alabama ban manufacture of lab-grown meat
Published: June 19, 2024
Category: GMO News
The Florida legislature has signed SB 1084, to prohibit production and sale of lab-grown meat in the state.
Governor Ron DeSantis spoke of the “global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish….” Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson added that lab-grown meat is in “direct opposition to authentic agriculture.” Whether the sentiments come from aversion to biotech meat production or desire to protect the state’s ag industry, the effect is to kill freedom of choice for consumers, some of whom are drawn to innovative technologies to lessen global warming and animal cruelty.
Alabama became the second state to ban production or sale of cultivated meat. Breaking the law could result in a possible three-month jail sentence and $500 fine.
Florida has taken stronger steps to support its farmers through modernizing the Right to Farm act and reestablishing funding for the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program ($300 million). The governor also awarded Hardee County $6 million to construct a large warehouse to attract more agriculture companies to the area.
Pepin Andrew Tuma of the Good Food Institute cites the “political theater” with suppressing economic growth and innovation.
“This legislation has always been about one thing—helping one industry, ‘Big Ag,’ avoid accountability and competition,” wrote Carrie Kabat at Eat Just. “China will…be celebrating.”
Upside Foods says the bills don’t protect consumers—cultivated meat has received federal approval—but defy free market principles.
Sources: WIRED, flgov.com
To view source articles, visit:
https://www.wired.com/story/lab-grown-fake-meat-ban-alabama-florida/
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