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.one
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    8 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
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      8 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.

    • fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de
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      8 months ago

      Yeah me too.

      Even if you don’t care about animals, synthetic will be cheaper, tastier, healthier, and better for the environment.

      Honestly the only thing not to like about it is that you don’t like the idea.

      • Agrivar@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        I dream of lab-grown bacon. Each piece an identical example of bacon perfection: just the right thickness and ratio of meat to fat.

        • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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          8 months ago

          A law mandating Floridians pay more for their food than any other U.S.citizen. Yeah, I’m sure that won’t be overturned.

          • Agrivar@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Not sure how that’s relevant to my statement regarding lab-grown bacon, but if you don’t think individual states pass laws that make their citizens pay more for things, you’re not very familiar with the U.S.A.

    • WIZARD POPE💫@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      The only thing I really dont know about is the texture. If its ground down it will be indistinguishable. But are they able to make steaks that look and feel like actual steaks?

    • AutistoMephisto@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      One thing people are afraid of though is being “duped”. In a world where everyone is afraid of deception, they want all the products they consume to be clearly labeled. My partner thinks that they’ve been steadily replacing all meat with lab-grown and just not telling anyone and not labeling the packaging. Like, one day she stopped buying the chicken breasts she’d normally get, saying that “it doesn’t taste right. It doesn’t taste how it did pre-pandemic. They’ve done something to it.”