TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A producer of “lab-grown” meat has filed a lawsuit challenging a newly enacted Florida law banning the sale of the product, arguing the restrictions give Florida farmers an unconstitutional advantage over competitors from other states.
“If some Floridians don’t like the idea of eating farmed chicken, there is a simple solution: don’t eat it,” said Paul Sherman, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
In June 2023, U.S. regulators approved the sale of so-called “cell-cultured” or “cell-engineered” meat. Sellers say the product is a more ethical and sustainable alternative to conventionally raised chicken, beef and pork.
But lawmakers in Florida and Alabama called cultured meat a threat to their states’ agriculture and banned the sale of the product, which is made from animal cells fed a mix of proteins, vitamins and water and then formed into nuggets, sausages and steaks.
Asked for comment on the lawsuit, a spokesman for Gov. Ron DeSantis referred to statements he made in May when he signed the state’s ban on cultured meat, flanked by ranchers.
“We stand behind agriculture, we stand behind ranchers, we stand behind our farmers because we understand they are important to the backbone of the state,” DeSantis said. “Go somewhere else with your artificial, lab-grown meat.”
Upside Foods, the manufacturer behind the lawsuit, hosted a tasting party in Miami before the ban went into effect and served guests cultured chicken tostadas topped with avocado, chipotle cream and beet sprouts.
“This is delicious meat,” said Upside Foods CEO and founder Uma Valeti. “And we fundamentally believe that people should have a choice about what they want to put on their plate.”
Valeti also pointed out that the meat produced by his company does not come from a laboratory, but from a facility more similar to a brewery or dairy.
