South Dakota has joined the growing chorus of U.S. states to pursue bans of cultivated meat products.
According to a Washington Examiner report, the state’s house of representatives passed a bill this week that prohibits the sale of “cultivated-protein food” and “lab-grown meat” products. Under the bill’s language, such products would be considered adulterated, and therefore in the same class as contaminated products.
Republican Rep. Julie Auch said the ban would protect ranchers from “a society that is more concerned with climate change and sustainability,” while Rep. Tesa Schwans criticized food from “a petri dish that’s full of hormones and sludge.”
The bill now moves to the State Senate for consideration.
Although no cultivated meat products are available for sale in the U.S., the issue has been a lightning rod for state legislators, with Montana, Indiana, and Nebraska the most recent states to enact bans; meanwhile, legal battles have commenced in Texas and Florida.
