Alabama became the second state to ban lab-grown meat, making selling it a misdemeanor just six days after Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis signed similar legislation.
The Alabama bill, proposed by Republican state Sen. Jack Williams, vice chair of the Senate Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee, and signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey on May 7, prohibits the manufacture, sale, or distribution of food products made from cultured animal cells. State Rep. Denny Crawford also had a hand in the legislation.
“We greatly appreciate Sen. Williams and Rep. Crawford for working to protect consumers in Alabama,” Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Executive Vice President Erin Beasley said. “Cattlemen work hard every day to raise cattle and produce high-quality beef. The tireless efforts of Sen. Williams and Rep. Crawford this session will ensure Alabamians continue to purchase safe, wholesome, real beef.”
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller told Texas Scorecard that he would be in favor of doing the same thing.
“I commend Governor DeSantis for signing that bill. It’s something that hopefully will start a trend. Maybe we can possibly get that through the Texas legislature,” Miller said.
While lab-grown meat has yet to hit grocery shelves, two companies (UPSIDE Foods and Eat Just) were approved to sell products in the U.S.
UPSIDE initially launched its cultivated chicken at restaurant partners, starting with Chef Dominique Crenn’s restaurant Bar Crenn in San Francisco last summer. However, the partners reportedly have gone separate ways since the launch. Meanwhile, Eat Just plans to serve its lab-grown products at José Andrés in D.C.
The decision to ban cultivated meat is still controversial, with proponents of lab-grown products arguing that bans inhibit innovation and consumer choice. Some users on Reddit call the move “anti-free market,” while others argue that cultivated meats may provide a more environmentally sound option than traditional means of raising livestock for meat. However, a recent study by the University of California Davis suggests that lab-grown meat’s carbon footprint may currently be worse than retail beef.
In response to the Alabama and Florida bans, Upside started a change.org petition urging consumers to tell politicians “to stop policing” their dinner plates.
»Related: MIT publication ranks lab-grown meat among 2023’s biggest tech fails