Florida’s ban on cultured meat is stupid. But it can have major consequences

Last week, Florida became the first state to ban lab-grown meat. It was basically a handout for the agricultural sector, mixed with some conspiracy theories.

State Rep. Dean Black, a Republican rancher, said, “Cultured meat is man-made. Real meat is made by God himself.” Meanwhile, the state’s agriculture commissioner said it was about protecting “our incredible farmers and the integrity of American agriculture.” And Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke of “elites” trying to “force the world to eat lab-grown meat and insects.”

But while it’s easy to write this off as Florida doing Florida things, this decision could be a turning point for the future of cultured meat. Cultured meat isn’t even on the shelves yet, and several other states are already working on similar bans.

Sustainable and animal-free meat

Cultured meat, also called laboratory meat or cultured meat, is a form of animal protein produced by growing animal cells in a controlled environment. It is not made from plants like existing meat substitutes. They are real muscle cells without the need to raise and slaughter animals.

This process begins by extracting muscle cells from a living animal, which are then fed and allowed to multiply in a bioreactor. This device provides the optimal conditions for cell growth. The cells multiply and differentiate into muscle tissue, creating meat that is biologically identical to what could be obtained from an animal. This method can produce different types of meat, including beef, chicken and fish, depending on the cells used and the conditions set.

The appeal of this type of meat is very simple. You can make it anywhere. Environmentally, it offers a sustainable alternative to traditional livestock farming, significantly reducing the ecological footprint by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, land use and water consumption. Ethically, it eliminates animal suffering associated with conventional meat production, presenting a more humane approach to meat consumption. In addition, cultured meat can increase food security by ensuring a consistent supply of proteins that are less susceptible to diseases, climate change and resource constraints that affect traditional agriculture.

As global demand for meat continues to grow, cultured meat could play a crucial role in meeting this demand sustainably and ethically.

Currently, Singapore is the only country that sells cultured meat commercially. However, there are more than 150 companies working on making lab-grown meat, and two of them (Upside and Good Meat) have received USDA approval for cultured chicken. However, there is currently no company that actually sells cultured meat in the US.

This is about politics, not health

Republican state Rep. Danny Alvarez, the sponsor behind the new Florida ban, claimed that the “unknowns of the new technology are so great.” However, a multi-year study by the FDA and the USDA (on the two companies mentioned above) found that cultured meat is safe to eat.

If anything, Florida’s decision to ban a product that doesn’t yet exist is based on protecting big farms and pandering to a segment of voters. It has little to do with health problems.

Last year, another Florida state representative, Tyler Sirois (also a Republican), introduced a similar bill. But Sirois was clearer, emphasizing the need to protect agriculture and livestock, which are “incredibly important industries for Florida.” He also called laboratory meat an “insult to nature and creation.”

DeSantis seemed more interested in a conspiracy theory tied to pro-meat lobby groups — that “global elites” want everyone to eat insects or lab-grown meat.

“Today, Florida is fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or insects to achieve their authoritarian goals,” DeSantis said in a media statement the day the bill was signed.

In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The big, powerful lobby groups are on the other side.

The Meat War

Laboratory-grown meat is not without problems and challenges. For example, it is not clear whether the environmental claims are entirely true. But the lobbying and pressure comes from existing agricultural companies, not from disruptive start-ups. Earlier this year, Arizona lawmakers proposed enacting a similar ban, with one of the sponsors once again being a farmer. Earlier this year, Italy also banned cultured meat, as a nod to the farmer lobby.

The meat industry is already panicking about existing plant-based products. Over the past decade, as meat substitutes have become increasingly popular, lawmakers have consistently restricted how these products can be labeled and sold. Research has shown that the agricultural lobby is actively opposing green solutions to protect its own product.

Some bills include restricted words like “burger” or “milk,” forcing the sale of plant-based products under confusing names like “Almond Drink” or “Vegetable Slice.” Several lawsuits have challenged such legislation, and in 2022, a federal judge ruled Arkansas’ labeling law unconstitutional. But it is much easier to introduce new bills than to fight them in court. Meanwhile, meat products often contain terms such as ‘ethically responsible’ or ‘sustainable’, which have no legal meaning and mislead consumers.

Efforts to ban cultured meat appear to be part of the same effort. The goal is to help protect the status quo in agriculture while promoting conspiracy theories popular with some voters. Although cultured meat companies don’t even have a product yet, they are already facing many regulatory hurdles or outright bans.

By some estimates, food production is responsible for over a quarter (26%) of global greenhouse gas emissions, and by others as much as a third. Meat production is responsible for 60% of these emissions, despite producing only a relatively small portion of the world’s calories and protein. Ironically, these emissions (and the global warming they cause) are also making life much harder for farmers, as droughts and extreme weather events become more common.

Cultured meat won’t become mainstream anytime soon and it certainly won’t be a panacea for these problems. But it could be a piece of the puzzle that helps us finally make agriculture more sustainable.