US Senators Push a Ban on Cultivated Meat in Schools
Just months after the United States approved cultivated meat, two senators have proposed a bill that will only allow slaughter-based meat to be used for school meals.
Cultivated sausages by Ivy Farm. Credit: Ivy Farm
Slaughter-based animal products have a devastating cost on climate change, water, and biodiversity, but the cultivated meat industry could provide meat, dairy and more without the environmental damage.
Now, as animal agriculture supporters worldwide attempt to prevent the progression of cultivated food products, a bill that would prohibit the use of cultivated meat products on school menus in the US has been introduced by two senators.
Senators Mike Rounds, R-SD and Jon Tester, D-MT are sponsoring The School Lunch Integrity Act of 2024 to prohibit cell-based food from being served in schools under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP). The NSLP serves over 4.9 billion lunches annually to over 30 million children in about 100,000 schools.
The legislation is endorsed by the US Cattlemen’s Association, R-CALF USA, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
“South Dakota farmers and ranchers work hard to produce high-quality beef products. These products are often sold to South Dakota schools, where they provide the necessary nutrition to our students,” said Rounds. “With high-quality, local beef readily available for our students, there’s no reason to serve fake, lab-grown meat products in the cafeteria. I’m pleased to introduce this bipartisan legislation that benefits South Dakota producers and protects students from the unknown effects of cell-cultivated ‘meat’ products.”
Tester, a third-generation farmer, said: “Montana ranchers grow the best meat in the world, that’s a fact – and our students ought to be getting the best in their school breakfasts and lunches daily. This commonsense bill will ensure our schools can serve real meat from our ranchers, not a fake substitute grown in a lab.”
Cultivated pork belly by Uncommon. Credit: Uncommon
This bill is not the only pushback against cultivated meat. Last November, Italy became the world’s first country to ban the production of cultivated meat to protect its powerful agricultural industry. Companies and restaurants were also prohibited from using words such as “steak” or “salami” to describe plant-based products.
Elsewhere in the US, Republican lawmakers in several states have also started initiating efforts to oppose the cultivated meat industry. In Florida, Rep. Tyler Sirois has proposed legislation that would make it a criminal offense to sell ”cultivated” meat in the state.
Meanwhile, in Arizona two bills have been drafted: one will make it illegal to “intentionally misbrand or misrepresent” an alternative meat product as meat, whilst the other is seeking an outright ban on the sale and production of cell-cultured animal products.
Reimagining Meat
Since 2013, companies have been racing to develop a sustainable and ethical alternative to slaughter-based meat without denying consumers the option to consume real meat and other animal products. The result: cultivated meat, also known as ‘cell-based’ or ‘lab-grown’.
The process creates real meat, but it is cultivated and grown directly from animal cells, rather than a farmed animal. Simply put, cells are painlessly taken from a living animal and then scientists feed and nurture the cells so that they multiply.
The method can be used to produce meat, fish, and dairy products all while removing the need to raise and farm animals for animals. This means that the food industry could theoretically stop slaughtering trillions of farmed animals around the world each year.
Peer-reviewed research is already reporting that cultivated meat could cause up to 92 percent less emissions than conventional beef, according to Good Food Institute, a non-profit think tank. It could also reduce air pollution with meat production by up to 94 percent, and use up to 90 percent less land.
How does cultivated meat compare with conventional meat on environmental metrics? Credit: GFI
In June 2023, a historic milestone for the industry, Upside Foods and Good Meat, two California-based firms got the go-ahead to sell cultivated chicken in the US. The FDA has issued a “no questions” letter to the two cultivated meat startups. These notices indicate that the US federal agency dedicated to food safety and nutrition has no remaining concerns after reviewing their cultivated products, deeming them “generally recognized as safe.”
More than 150 companies are currently working on creating cultivated meat, all with the goal of meeting the insatiable, rapidly growing demand for meat without harming animals or the planet. Approximately 70 traditional meat and food companies are actively engaged in some aspect of cultivated meat production.
Now, one of the major roadblocks that remains for cultivated products is scaling up production and getting the cost to an affordable price. Experts predict cultivated meat could become a $25 billion global industry by 2030.
Supporting Solutions for Animals and the Environment
By 2050, the human population is estimated to reach 9.5 billion, and the demand for animal-based protein is expected to double. With 75 billion land animals and trillions of fish currently slaughtered globally every year, the climate and ethical implications of these are incomprehensible.
That’s why, in 2024 and beyond, Species Unite will continue to champion solutions including cultivated meat that can help transition the world away from animal products. Join our mission and community by becoming a member today and check out our Future of Food podcast episodes to learn more about cellular agriculture.
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