Lab-grown meat is not currently available in any U.S. grocery stores or restaurants.
If some lawmakers have their way, it never will be.
Earlier this month, both Florida and Alabama banned the sale of cultivated meat and seafood, which is grown from animal cells.
The U.S. approved the sale of lab-grown meat for the first time in June 2023, allowing two California startups, Good Meat and Upside Foods, to sell cultivated chicken.
Cultivated products are grown in steel tanks using cells from a living animal, a fertilized egg or a storage bank.
The cells are fed with special blends of water, sugar, fats and vitamins. Once they’ve grown, they’re formed into cutlets, nuggets and other shapes.
Republican state Sen. Jack Williams, the sponsor of Alabama’s bill, wrote in an email to The Associated Press “Alabamians want to know what they are eating, and we have no idea what is in this stuff or how it will affect us”.
