In May, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a legislative package that included a ban on the sale of lab-grown meat, making Florida the only state in the US where cultivated meat cannot be sold.

At a press conference in Wauchula, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a legislative package (SB 1084) that includes a number of Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services priorities. Most controversially, that includes the meat ban and a pre-emption on local regulation of electric vehicle charging stations.

“While the World Economic Forum is telling the world to forgo meat consumption, Florida is increasing meat production, and encouraging residents to continue to consume and enjoy 100% real Florida beef,” a press statement said.

“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,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Our administration will continue to focus on investing in our local farmers and ranchers, and we will save our beef.”

Related: Fake meat: It’s all part of a plan to control the entire food supply

Florida’s ban on fake “meat,” which took effect on 1 July, is part of a broader package that covers various priorities of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, including a pre-emption on local regulation of electric vehicle charging stations.

Governor DeSantis views the development of lab-made meat as a threat to agriculture, comparable to citrus greening, and believes it is part of a broader conspiracy by elitists to enforce social credit scores and erase farming.

The Governor referred to lab-grown products as “fake meat” and expressed concerns that the creation of protein in petri dishes could lead to the elimination of meat production in the US and worldwide.

The Florida Cattlemen’s Association supported the ban, citing concerns that lab-made meat is an unknown and potentially unsafe substitute for traditional meat.

However, numerous hedge fund investors and startup companies researching meat cultivation argue that the ban will stifle research and hinder the growth of a needed industry that can help accommodate the world’s growing population.

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A group of 38 biotech investors and hedge fund leaders sent a letter to lawmakers in March, warning that the ban will have economic ramifications for Florida and set research in the state back.

Lawmakers made some concessions, exempting pure scientific research into the process of creating meat in laboratories, allowing Florida programmes to continue, but prohibiting commercial sale of lab-grown meat.

At the time, only two restaurants in the US, one in California and one in Washington, served cultivated meat, and neither served artificial beef.

Supporters of cultivated meat argue that it could be a matter of food security, allowing for the production of beef beyond traditional ranching, while opponents, including Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, believe it will compromise food security and is unnecessary.

The same legislation also generated discussion about leaving regulation of charging stations to the state, pre-empting local governments from requiring a higher number of parking lot spaces to be reserved for electric vehicles.

The above is a precis of the article ‘Gov. DeSantis signs first-in-nation ban on sale of lab-grown meat’ published by Florida Politics.  You can read the full article HERE.