Southern Red states line up to join Florida banning lab-grown meat - the ... trends now
Efforts against lab-grown meat across Red America gained traction this week, with Florida Gov Ron DeSantis signing a first-in-the-nation ban of the products.
DeSantis inked a bill to prohibit anyone from selling or distributing lab-grown meat in Florida.
He said it will 'save our beef' from the 'global elite' that wants to change US diets.
Similar efforts are under way in Alabama, Arizona, and Tennessee.
'Florida is fighting back against the global elite's plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs,' the Republican said.
Florida Gov Ron DeSantis vows to 'save our beef' from the 'global elite' that wants to change US diets
Advocates of lab-grown meat say it's lean, safe, nutritious, and doesn't hurt the planet
Lab-grown or 'cultivated' meat was first cleared for consumption in the US in 2022.
Their product is derived from a small sample of cells collected from livestock, which is then fed nutrients, and grown in enormous steel vessels called bioreactors.
Are YOU keen to try lab-grown meat?
Yes 24 votes No 144 votes Not sure 9 votesNow share your opinion
It is then processed into something that looks and tastes like a real cut of meat.
Advocates say the products are packed with protein and cause less emissions of planet-heating gases than regular farming.
The World Economic Forum, a globalist group in Switzerland, touts lab-grown meat as an efficient and environmentally-friendly way to produce food, and feed a rapidly growing global population.
It also promotes insect farming as a 'credible and alternative protein source.'
Lobbyists for edible insects have launched a campaign asking the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to add mealworms, crickets protein powder and other insect products to the agency's database of safe ingredients.
Republicans say the new foods will hurt ranchers, farmers, and meat-packers.
That's making lab-grown meat a new front in America's culture wars.
At an event on Wednesday, Mr DeSantis said he was 'fighting against an ideology that ultimately wants to eliminate meat production in the US and around the globe.'
Lab-grown meat: not everybody is willing to give it a shot
Republicans say the new foods will hurt ranchers, farmers, and meat-packers
'In the state of Florida we've put down the marker very clearly; we stand with agriculture. We stand with the cattle ranchers,' he said.
Florida's commissioner of agriculture Wilton Simpson praised the legislation.
'Florida is taking a tremendous step in the right direction by signing first-in-the-nation legislation banning lab-grown meat,'
