Florida's governor says he will "save our beef", but a lab-grown meat firm calls it an assault on liberty.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has banned lab-grown meat, saying he will “save our beef” from the “global elite” and its “authoritarian plans”.

“Florida is fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs,” Mr DeSantis said in a statement.

The first-in-the-nation law prohibits anyone from selling or distributing lab-grown meat in Florida.

Similar efforts are under way in Alabama, Arizona and Tennessee.

Lab-grown or “cultivated” meat was first cleared for consumption in the US in 2022.

The process of making cultivated meat involves extracting cells from an animal, which are then fed with nutrients such as proteins, sugars and fats. The end product is genetically indistinguishable from traditionally produced meat.

Studies have suggested that eating cultivated meat can cut carbon emissions and water usage, and free up land for nature, compared to eating traditionally produced meat.

  • BurningnnTree@lemmy.oneEnglish
    0·
    6 months ago

    I can’t wait for lab grown meat to become widely available (in my state at least). I think it’s really cool. Being able to eat real meat without harming animals sounds so futuristic. It’s one piece of future technology that I can actually get behind.

    • subignition@fedia.io
      0·
      6 months ago

      Agreed. I think the environmental impact is much lower as well, which is basically a win/win if prices can compete with farmed animals.

      • Enkrod@feddit.de
        0·
        6 months ago

        I’m absolutely not sold on the lower ecological footprint, the same hubub was made about vertical farming and that was either highly expensive or came with a gigantic footprint.

        But I sure hope it pans out.