Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has banned lab-grown meat, saying he will “save our beef” from the “global elite” and its “authoritarian plans”.
“Florida is fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs,” Mr DeSantis said in a statement.
The first-in-the-nation law prohibits anyone from selling or distributing lab-grown meat in Florida.
Similar efforts are under way in Alabama, Arizona and Tennessee.
Lab-grown or “cultivated” meat was first cleared for consumption in the US in 2022.
The process of making cultivated meat involves extracting cells from an animal, which are then fed with nutrients such as proteins, sugars and fats. The end product is genetically indistinguishable from traditionally produced meat.
Studies have suggested that eating cultivated meat can cut carbon emissions and water usage, and free up land for nature, compared to eating traditionally produced meat.
The idea is that you can quickly and easily replicate a flavor you’re used to and remove the animal element. You can also buy it and have a good idea what it will taste like.
But it’s not healthy! Yeah no kidding, when I eat a burger it’s generally not for the health benefits.
Are you referring to plant-based burgers? That would definitely apply to Beyond and Impossible as they add way too much coconut oil, and salt. In other words they’re unhealthy for some of the same reasons animal flesh is unhealthy, although they are still less harmful than their animal counterparts just by lacking the animal proteins.
Pretty much. Although I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t add salt to a burger anyway, and the beyond/impossible burgers don’t need any extra, so I don’t think the sodium content is a super fair comparison.