South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden (R) vetoed a bill last month that would permanently ban lab-grown meat in his state. “While you won’t catch me eating these products, it is against our values to ban products just because we don’t like them,” he said. It’s an admirable sentiment, which is why it’s puzzling that he signed a five-year moratorium on the novel food this week.
The new law will prohibit the sale, manufacture or distribution of cell-cultured proteins in the state until 2031, punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a fine up to $500 or both. The temporary ban, Rhoden argued, will allow time for “further study” of the products and for “pending litigation in other states to further unfold.”
The meat is derived from real animal cells that are grown into edible products using nutrients and amino acids. The Food and Drug Administration, as well as the USDA, haven’t raised any concerns about the safety of these products, and the agencies have said companies will need to clearly label them when they come on the market.
The lab-grown meat industry is far from posing an existential threat to beef manufacturers. If they ever succeed, it will be because they’re safe, economical and people enjoy eating them. While some companies are now selling these products at the pilot stage in the United States, they have not shown that they can be scaled up commercially
That hasn’t stopped South Dakota and seven other red states from enacting full bans on cultivated meat. The states that have rejected the new product include Texas, Montana and Nebraska — all home to large beef industries.
Trying to protect a local industry is short-sighted but understandable. Some opposition is more cynical. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) described his state’s ban as “fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs to achieve their authoritarian goals.”
If lab-grown protein eventually takes off, the states that welcomed the industry will benefit most. And, while theoretical, it’s not hard to see why some Americans might prefer a product that never passes through a slaughterhouse, avoids exposure to antibiotics and generates a smaller carbon footprint. If production costs decline, more people worldwide could add more protein to their diets.
The reality is that millions of people will always prefer real meat, and outside of a bizarre fever dream, no one will take it away from them. Here’s a novel idea: let people eat whatever they want.
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