DeSantis makes ‘cultivated’ lab-grown meats illegal in Florida

It was a few months ago when Gov. Ron DeSantis first announced his support for preventing “cultivated” lab-grown meat from being made or sold in Florida. “You need meat, OK. And we’re going to have meat in Florida,” the Republican governor said, adding, “We’re not going to have fake meat. Like, that doesn’t work.”

He wasn’t talking about soy- or vegetable-based meat substitutes. Rather, as The Tampa Bay Times reported, cultivated meat “involves a process of taking a small number of cultured cells from animals and growing them in controlled settings to make food. Industry officials have argued the cultivated meat process has been closely scrutinized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure safety.”