i- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis expressed his support of two bills in the Florida Legislature that would ban the cultivation and sale of lab-grown (cultivated) meat products. He said in a public statement that the bills will “protect our meat . . . We are going to have meat in Florida. We are not going to do that fake meat.”
- House Bill 435 and Senate Bill 586 would prohibit the manufacture and distribution of cultivated meat in the state and establish criminal penalties for doing so. The bills define “cultivated meat” as “any meat or food product produced from cultured animal cells.” Violating the ban results in a second-degree misdemeanor, and a restaurant, store, or other business could have its license suspended for selling cultivated meat products. In addition, food establishments that distribute or sell cultivated meat would be subject to fines and revocation or suspension of the establishment’s permit. Products in violation of the ban would be subject to an immediate stop-sale order.
- Both bills were filed in November 2023. The House bill was found favorable by the Agriculture, Conservation & Resiliency Subcommittee and is now in the Agriculture & Natural Resource Appropriations Subcommittee. The Senate bill has been introduced in the Agriculture, Commerce and Tourism, and Fiscal Policy committees.
- With these bills, Florida joins several other states, including Arizona and Texas, in moving toward banning lab-grown (cultivated) meat products. Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor and report on legislation related to cultivated meat.
Florida Governor Supports Lab-Grown (Cultivated) Meat Ban
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
