On May 1, 2024, Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 1084 prohibiting the sale of lab-grown meat in the state of Florida, effective July 1, 2024. According to the Governor, “Our administration will continue to focus on investing in our local farmers and ranchers, and we will save our beef,” adding that he signed SB 1084 “to protect farmers and the integrity of American agriculture; it is important for our culture and it’s important for our heritage.”
Florida is the first in the nation to ban lab-grown meat to protect its farmers and the integrity of American agriculture. “I applaud Governor DeSantis, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, House Speaker Paul Renner, Senator Jay Collins, and Representative Danny Alvarez for standing up for Florida’s farmers and consumers, and together we will keep Florida’s agriculture strong and thriving,” said Wilton Simpson, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture.
The new law prohibits the manufacture, sale, hold, or offer for sale or distribution of cultivated meat throughout the state. In the bill, it refers to lab-grown meat as "human food made with cultured animal cells." It describes the process as the ability to take a small number of cells from living animals and grow them in a controlled environment to make food. That means that any meat alternative that cultivates meat from animal cells in a lab can no longer be sold in Florida. Plant-based alternatives like Impossible are safe.
Florida has become the first state to outlaw the manufacture and distribution of lab-grown meat. But other states such as Alabama, Arizona and Tennessee are considering similar measures.
According to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture (UF/IFAS), as of January 2024, Florida ranks number nine in beef cattle production with 883,589 head of beef cows. Currently, Florida ranks 13th in overall cattle numbers nationwide. The three top-ranking counties for cattle are Okeechobee, Highlands, and Osceola counties with cash receipts from cattle and calf sales totaling over $546 Million.
According to the Florida Beef Council’s Executive Director, Deanne Maples, “Florida’s cattle legacy is deeply rooted in Florida, dating back more than five centuries. We’ve had cattle here for 502 years. When cattle first arrived in what is now North America, they came to Florida.” The Florida Beef Council actively promotes beef to consumers, while the Florida Cattlemen’s Association advocates for the industry and its members.
The Florida Cattlemen’s Association (FCA) just recently convened its 2024 Convention and Allied Trade Show at the JW Marriott in Marco Island, boasting a membership of approximately 4,400 families engaged in ranching across Florida. It was established in 1934 and represents 96 percent of the cow herds in Florida.
Keywords
cultured meat,
cattle,
meat,
florida,
beef,
meat alternative,
animal products,
agriculture,
food industry,
animal killing,
livestock,
animals and humans,
industries (economics),
wilton simpson,
animal welfare,
domesticated animals,
foods,
animals,
primary sector of the economy,
animal keeping,
animal rights,
food politics,
bovines,
issues in animal ethics,
farmer,
food science,
university of florida,
biology,
primary industries,
food watchlist articles,
beef cattle,
plant-based diet,
zoology,
ethnobiology,
natural resources,
food ingredients,
food,
cowboy,
cruelty to animals,
institute of food and agricultural sciences,
humans and other species,
domestication,
calf (animal),
intentional living,
ron desantis,
organisms,
united states,
malnutrition,
tennessee,
bioethics,
social issues,
animal law,
culture,
industry (economics),
alabama,
eating behaviors of humans,
natural environment,
animal,
applied ethics,
politics,
meat substitutes,
economy,
animal health,
sustainable food system,
food and the environment,
ethical consumerism,
cruelty,
agricultural science,
nutrition,
nature,
florida commissioner of agriculture,
osceola county,
florida,
animal product analogs,
kingdoms (biology),
counterculture,
rights,
lifestyles,
health and politics,
imitation foods,
north america,
meat industry,
agricultural production,
issues in ethics,
arizona,
commercial farming,
vegetarianism,
ethical schools and movements,
life sciences,
cattle products,
cell (biology),
environment,
kathleen passidomo,
product,
vegetarian cuisine,
government of florida,
cuisine,
agricultural economics,
florida politicians,
cooking,
cellular agriculture,
health,
florida republicans,
economics of primary sector industries,
cows,
organization,
politics of florida,
economies,
cash,
chemistry,
health sciences,
environmental issues,
species,
environmental social science,
trade,
mammals,
artificial objects,
economy and the environment,
diets,
law,
branches of science,
health promotion,
natural products,
production and manufacturing,
veganism,
public sphere,
states of the gulf coast of the united states,
american politicians,
people from florida,
weight loss,
biological engineering,
dietetics,
environmental movements,
hunger,
change,
food and drink preparation,
animal physiology,
holozoa,
biotechnology,
causes of death,
justice,
crimes,
human impact on the environment,
society of the united states,
eukaryotes,
food law,
botany,
death,
female mammals,
sustainability,
bovidae,
agricultural products,
consumer,
synthetic biology,
consumerism,
management of obesity,
okeechobee county,
florida,
social movements,
natural materials,
religion-based diets,
technology,
government,
medical research,
biocybernetics,
florida commissioners of agriculture,
ethics of science and technology,
sustainable technologies,
mammal ecology,
environmental science,
goods (economics),
environmentalism,
materials,
culture and the environment,
animal ethics,
sociology of knowledge,
state cabinet secretaries of florida,
private sector,
vegan cuisine,
nutritional deficiencies,
sustainable gardening,
products,
politics of the united states,
technological change,
state governments of the united states,
public health,
agronomy,
herbivorous vertebrates,
hazards,
political science,
appropriate technology,
political ideologies,
medical treatments,
components,
agriculture and the environment,
social ethics,
sustainable development,
people in agriculture,
traditional knowledge,
consumer behaviour,
chemical compounds,
governors of florida,
plant agriculture,
social psychology,
cosmopolitan mammals,
reproduction in mammals,
medicine,
public policy,
cosmopolitan vertebrates,
business process,
service industries,
herbivorous mammals,
systems biology,
traditions,
members of the florida legislature,
taxa named,
collier news,
swfl,
collier county,
marco news,
marco island,
marco island florida,
coastal breeze news,
naples area,
naples
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here