Ron DeSantis bans 'global elite' lab-grown meat
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.
I AM THE GLOBAL ELITE.
KNEEL BEFORE MY VEGAN MIGHT!
ALL SHALL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR.
You offer it to me freely??
...well, no, it's actually much more expensive than subsidised beef, but that's not important right now: KNEEL!..
Lab grown meat is not vegan. It is “real” meat grown from animal cells. But yes, the joke is still funny.
No true vegan? After a certain point that seems a bit like arguing that corn isn't vegan because it was fertilized with cow droppings, but...
It depends on the type of vegan. If they are vegan because they don’t like hurting animals, then lab grown meat is fine. If they are vegan because eating meat has a negative effect on their health, then it’s not fine.