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.

  • Grayox
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    3616 days ago

    I want lab grown steaks so bad. Why are these ‘Capitalist’ so against the free market?

    • @buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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      1516 days ago

      They always have been. Capitalism isn’t about a free market, it’s about keeping the richest most powerful industrialists at the top.

    • NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ
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      16 days ago

      Imo this is clearly influenced by the meat lobby, National Cattleman’s Beef Association, or the like. They know many people would happily pay for lab grown meat, which would destroy their current market, forcing a costly pivot where they would lose their historic market control.

      Whenever weird shit like this happens in the US, it’s all about money and market control and then painted as “protecting you from the EVIL LEFT” or some stupid shit.