US States ramp up restrictions on cultivated meat to defend traditional agriculture
US – The rapid expansion of cultivated meat has hit a significant obstacle as several U.S. states have enacted laws to prohibit its production and sale. These states aim to protect traditional animal agriculture by banning lab-grown alternatives, known as alt-meat.
Florida was the first state to impose such restrictions, passing legislation that makes it illegal to manufacture, hold, or sell cultivated meat. Shortly thereafter, Alabama followed suit with a similar ban, set to take effect on October 1. Iowa also joined this movement by enacting a law that forbids labeling lab-grown food as meat.
Nebraska is poised to become the fourth state to take action against cultivated meat. Governor Jim Pillen has announced plans to work with the state legislature to make lab-grown meat illegal.
In the meantime, he signed an executive order banning state agencies and contractors from using state funds for lab-grown meat, signaling a move toward a comprehensive ban.
Additionally, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture is set to begin a rule-making process to prevent cultivated meat from being marketed as traditional meat in the state.
Other states are likely to follow Nebraska’s lead. In Illinois, House Bill 5872, introduced for consideration in 2025, aims to ban the production and sale of alt-meat products and classify such activities as a misdemeanor.
An overview from the Congressional Research Service highlights that cell-cultivated meat is produced in laboratories from animal cells without the need for slaughter. The production process involves five steps: biopsy of animal cells, cell banking, cell growth, harvesting, and food processing.
The first cell-cultivated meat product, created in 2013 by a Maastricht University scientist in the Netherlands, paved the way for subsequent developments.
In 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two companies, GOOD Meat and UPSIDE Foods, to sell cell-cultivated chicken in the U.S. markets.
By June 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued the first grants of inspection for these companies, allowing them to produce and label cell-cultivated chicken.
UPSIDE Foods and GOOD Meat began selling this product at restaurants in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., respectively, in July 2023.Globally, over 150 companies are engaged in cell-cultivated meat production, with 43 based in the U.S.
Currently, only the U.S. and Singapore permit the sale of cell-cultivated meat to consumers. Research and development in this field received US$3 billion in funding between 2010 and 2022, including contributions from the National Science Foundation and USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, primarily directed toward research universities.