Texas has officially outlawed the sale of lab-grown meat in stores and restaurants, becoming the seventh state to enact such a ban since the federal government authorized the products in 2023.
The ban has been hailed by the state’s traditional meat and livestock industries.
“This ban is a significant victory for Texas ranchers, producers, and consumers,” state Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller stated. “Texans have a God-given right to know what’s on their plate, and for many Texans, it ought to come from a pasture, not a laboratory.”
“It’s plain cowboy logic that we must safeguard our real, authentic meat industry from synthetic alternatives,” he added.
The Republican-led Texas legislature overwhelmingly voted in June to prohibit the sale of these novel meat products, which are cultivated from cells of living animals traditionally slaughtered for beef, pork, and poultry.
Individuals who offer “cell-cultured protein” for human consumption in Texas, contravening this new restriction, could face civil and criminal penalties. The law, set to expire in two years unless extended by lawmakers, includes these products in current restrictions under the Texas Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Supporters of lab-grown meat argue that it’s more environmentally friendly and reduces the need to slaughter animals.
A lawsuit challenging the Texas ban was filed on Wednesday.
“Texas has always embraced a ‘live-and-let-live’ philosophy, particularly when it comes to food,” remarked Paul Sherman, an attorney for the Institute for Justice, which is managing the lawsuit, in a statement. “No one is pressuring Texans to eat anything undesirable. However, the government shouldn’t stop Texans from consuming something they desire.”
The Texas Tribune noted that only one restaurant in the state, a sushi establishment in Austin, was serving cultivated meat before the ban was implemented this week.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture granted companies, including Upside Foods and Good Meat, the ability to sell their lab-grown products in 2023. To date, at least seven states have banned lab-grown meat in stores and restaurants.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed the first state law banning the products in 2024, describing the move as a counter to “the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs to achieve their authoritarian goals.”
The Florida ban is also being challenged in court with the Institute for Justice’s involvement.
