Republican legislators in at least six states are seeking to require special labels on new cultivated meat products that may eventually threaten farm operators across the country.
Lawmakers in Mississippi, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota and Virginia have introduced measures in recent weeks to require special labels on cultivated proteins, a line of products that is only just coming onto the market in some places. Most of the bills would bar those products from implying they are made from meat or eggs, while Nebraska’s version would ban cultivated protein products altogether.
Cultivated protein products, also called lab-grown meat, use small amounts of animal cells to grow slabs of meat that do not require the slaughter of an animal. The two California companies, Good Meat and Upside Foods, currently sell their products only to a small number of restaurants.
Investors in those companies see the potential for a future in which their products replace much of the existing meat industry, which contributes significantly to global carbon emissions.
But lawmakers, especially rural Republicans in areas where agriculture plays a substantial role in local economies, say they want consumers to know what they are buying.
“This bill is about transparency and the consumer’s right to know what they are eating,” Virginia Del. Tony Wilt (R) said in an email. “My bill does not ban any manufactured protein product, it simply requires that you make clear what’s in your product if it’s not derived from livestock or poultry.”
The war on cultivated meat began in earnest after the federal Department of Agriculture approved the sale and service of cell-cultured meat products by two California-based companies. The Food and Drug Administration ruled in 2022 that those products were safe to eat.
Last year, lawmakers in Alabama and Florida approved bills banning the sale of cultivated meat, though none of those products were available in either state. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed legislation dubbed the “meat integrity act” in May. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) signed an executive order in August restricting state agencies from buying cultivated protein products.
The backlash is not specific to the United States. Italian lawmakers have banned cultivated meat, and French legislators considered a similar bill last year. Only the United States and Singapore have approved cultivated meat for public consumption.
In spite of the legislative challenges, the cultivated protein industry has attracted substantial investment from venture capitalists who see a huge financial upside. A 2023 report from the Good Food Institute, which opposes labeling laws, found an estimated $3.1 billion in capital invested in about 174 publicly announced cultivated meat and seafood companies.
The Good Food Institute calls measures seeking to require labels on cultivated food censorious and unconstitutional.
“Label censorship sets a dangerous precedent that will inhibit competition and consumer choice,” the group wrote. The laws send “the message to innovators and entrepreneurs in every industry that governments are prepared to step in and protect long-standing industries from competition.”
Most of the bills before legislatures this year are in their earliest phases, and some are showing signs of bipartisan support. A South Dakota House committee and a South Carolina Senate committee unanimously advanced legislation requiring conspicuous labels on cultivated meat products this week.
Bills in Mississippi, Oregon and Nebraska have all been referred to committee. A Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee approved Wilt’s legislation on Wednesday.
Wilt said he did not believe that cultivated protein products were harmful to consumers — but, he said, consumers should know what they are eating.
“While I don’t think these alternative protein products pose a threat, consumers are familiar and comfortable with meat and poultry, producers of manufactured protein products should not be tricking consumers into thinking they are eating something they are not,” Wilt said.