DeSantis signs bill banning lab-grown meat

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill banning lab-grown meat in his state Wednesday, in what he described as an effort to “save our beef.”

“Today, Florida is 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,” DeSantis said in a press release Wednesday. “Our administration will continue to focus on investing in our local farmers and ranchers, and we will save our beef.”

The bill, S.B. 1084, makes it “unlawful” for people to “manufacture for sale, sell, hold or offer for sale, or distribute” lab-grown meat in Florida. 

“Florida is taking a tremendous step in the right direction by signing first-in-the-nation legislation banning lab-grown meat,” Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson (R) said in the press release.