Senate passes ban on sale of cultivated meat

Good Meats cultivated chicken. Image via AP.

Senators voted to make Florida the first state to ban the sale of lab-grown meat. But a majority rejected a proposal to put a five-year sunset on that restriction.

As lawmakers debated an agriculture package (SB 1084) on the floor, Republican Sen. Jay Collins said he doesn’t think cultured meat products will be ready for consumption anytime soon.

“We need more time than five years,” the Tampa Republican said.

The measure ultimately passed on a 26-10 vote, but only after a few delays to work out concerns elsewhere in the legislative package. All votes against the bill came from Democrats. But Senators did approve a Democratic amendment establishing rule-making authority in a preemption of local regulations on electric vehicle charging stations.

But the bulk of debate surrounded the ban on cellular agriculture.

Republicans in the House and Senate did agree to allow scientific research in the burgeoning field. That should allow Florida programs already in place at NASA and multiple state universities to continue.

Regardless, critics of the bill fear such a ban on commercial cultivation will have a chilling effect on a field still in its infancy.

“There will not be companies that come to the state of Florida to do this research,” said Sen. Tina Polsky, a Boca Raton Democrat.

Biotech investors in sustainable foods have lobbied legislative leaders and Gov. Ron DeSantis on the matter, saying a ban would have economic consequences and compromise food security.

But traditional agriculture advocates have urged extreme caution. The Florida Cattlemen’s Association and other organizations representing Florida farmers say lab-grown meats should not be considered meat, and that far more research must be done before consumers should be allowed to eat it.

Companies producing meat now have spoken at legislative committees throughout Session saying their products are neither unsafe nor a threat to traditional farming. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration have both approved lab-grown white meat already.

But its availability remains limited in the U.S. Only two restaurants in the country, one in San Francisco and one in Washington, D.C., sell the product.

Opponents of the bill also say the legislation would hurt research in allied countries like Israel, where the government has already approved cultivated beef products. Meanwhile, it would aid countries like China, which is making a concerted effort right now to expand its own efforts in the field.

A companion bill (HB 1071) awaits being heard on the House floor. But that has none of the new language about electric vehicle regulations.