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.
That’s ridiculous. Every scientist I have ever seen involved in this field says it is about getting people to give up or at least eat less meat for the good of the planet.
Our points don’t disagree. Point #1 The goal is food production in order to sustain a growing population. Current production is ecologically and economically unsustainable. Point #2 The “global elite” wouldn’t be caught dead eating lab grown meat unless they are doing a promo for the “lab grown meat” company.
Personally, I imagine the global elite to be Cypher, enjoying a succulent steak while selling out the rest of humanity to robots.