Why is Florida Banning Lab-Grown Meat?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law on Wednesday banning lab-grown meat — a product not currently available to Florida consumers. Why?
The Details: The law makes it illegal to “manufacture for sale, sell, hold or offer for sale, or distribute” lab-grown meat in Florida. Lawmakers in Alabama, Arizona, and Tennessee are considering similar legislation. Lab-grown meat was cleared for consumption in the U.S. in 2022.
Key Quote: “Today, Florida is fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs to achieve their authoritarian goals,” DeSantis said in a press release, adding, “Our administration will continue to focus on investing in our local farmers and ranchers, and we will save our beef.”
How the Media Covered It: Several outlets did not cover the bill’s Wednesday signing until Friday, potentially signaling a lack of existing attention on the issue. News and analysis coverage generally aligned with cultural conservative and liberal attitudes about meat alternatives. While The Post Millennial (Right bias) said the law “earned the respect of many,” including Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), The Verge (Lean Left bias) said the law was based on a “conspiracy theory.” Several articles from left-rated outlets highlighted that lab-grown meat was “years away from commercial viability,” thereby framing DeSantis as paranoid.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Why Florida banned a kind of meat that doesn’t really exist
On Wednesday, Florida became the first US state to ban the production and sale of lab-grown, or “cell-cultivated” meat.
“Take your fake lab-grown meat elsewhere,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said before signing SB 1084 into law. “We’re not doing that in the state of Florida.”
Alabama is on the cusp of passing similar legislation.
Cell-cultivated meat is different from products made by companies like Impossible Foods that use plant ingredients to mimic meat. Instead, cell-cultivated meat is real meat, but made without slaughtering an animal. It’s produced by taking a small sample of animal cells and feeding them...
From the Center
Ron DeSantis bans 'global elite' lab-grown meat
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...
From the Right
DeSantis bans lab-grown meat in Florida to boost agricultural industry
On Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 1084 into law, making his state the first in the nation to ban lab-grown meat.
He touted the move as a step in the right direction amid an elite-driven push to abandon what has been a staple of the human diet for thousands of years in favor of laboratory-concocted alternatives, adding that Florida is actually "increasing meat production."
The bill seeks to protect farmers and consumers alike by "prohibiting the manufacture for sale, sale, holding or offering for sale, or distribution of cultivated meat in this state," as...
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May 17th, 2024
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