Gov. Ron DeSantis Bans Synthetic Meat To ‘Save’ Florida From ‘Global Elite’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a ban on lab-grown meat to “save our beef” from the “global elite” and its “authoritarian plans.”

The newly enacted law is the first of its kind in the nation and prohibits the sale and distribution of lab-grown meat in Florida. Similar initiatives are also being implemented in Alabama, Arizona and Tennessee.

DeSantis declared, “Florida is fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs.”

Lab-grown, or “cultivated,” meat was approved for consumption in the United States in 2022. The production process involves extracting cells from an animal and nourishing them with essential nutrients like proteins, sugars, and fats. The final product is genetically identical to conventionally sourced meat. Various studies indicate that consumption of cultivated meat can significantly benefit the environment, reducing carbon emissions, water usage and land requirements compared to conventionally produced meat.

The World Economic Forum, an international non-governmental organization based in Switzerland, has long advocated for lab-grown meat as an efficient and eco-friendly solution to food production, particularly in the face of a rapid expansion in the global population. The organization has also promoted insect farming as a viable alternative protein source.

These unconventional food sources have become embroiled in the ongoing culture wars within the United States. Two years ago, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) drew attention when she insinuated that the government monitored whether Americans consumed lab-grown fake meat.

At the Wednesday event where the new legislation was signed, DeSantis emphasized his opposition to an ideology he believes seeks to eliminate meat production both in the United States and worldwide. He stated, “In the state of Florida, we’ve put down the marker very clearly; we stand with agriculture. We stand with the cattle ranchers.”

Surprisingly, the ban also gained support from an unlikely ally of DeSantis, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania). Fetterman agreed with DeSantis, writing, “It pains me deeply [to agree with DeSantis], but I co-sign this.”

Good Meat, a company that specializes in cultivated meat and claims to be the world’s first to sell lab-grown meat, expressed disappointment about the new law in Florida. The company stated on social media, “In a state that purportedly prides itself on being a land of freedom and individual liberty, its government is now telling consumers what meat they can or cannot purchase.”

DeSantis recently came under fire after a measles outbreak in Florida was blamed on his vaccine-skeptic surgeon general.