DeSantis signs bill banning lab-grown meat

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill banning lab-grown meat in his state Wednesday, in what he described as an effort to “save our beef.”

“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 Wednesday. “Our administration will continue to focus on investing in our local farmers and ranchers, and we will save our beef.”

The bill, S.B. 1084, makes it “unlawful” for people to “manufacture for sale, sell, hold or offer for sale, or distribute” lab-grown meat in Florida. 

“Florida is taking a tremendous step in the right direction by signing first-in-the-nation legislation banning lab-grown meat,” Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson (R) said in the press release. 

“We must protect our incredible farmers and the integrity of American agriculture. Lab-grown meat is a disgraceful attempt to undermine our proud traditions and prosperity, and is in direct opposition to authentic agriculture,” Simpson continued.

Good Meat, which describes itself on its website as “the first company in the world to sell cultivated meat,” said it was “disappointed” that DeSantis “signed into law the criminalization of cultivated meat in” the Sunshine State.

“In a state that purportedly prides itself on being a land of freedom and individual liberty, its government is now telling consumers what meat they can or cannot purchase,” Good Meat said in a post on the social platform X.

“The law is a setback for everyone: Floridians who deserve the right to eat whatever safe and approved meat they want; Florida’s technology sector, innovators and entrepreneurs; and all those working to stop the worst impacts of climate change,” the post continues.