Southeast Sets Standard in Cultured Meat
With your Southeast Regional Ag News, I am Haylie Shipp. This is the Ag Information Network.Alabama is now the second state in the nation to ban the sale of cultured meat. Last week, Governor Kay Ivey signed SB23 into law, making the manufacture, sale, or distribution of food products produced from cultured animal cells a Class C misdemeanor as of October 1. According to the bill, civil penalties could range from $100 for a Class 2 violation up to $10,000 for a Class 5 violation for food sales establishments that violate the provisions of the bill.
Of note as we get into the discussion, Feedstuffs says the legislation doesn’t prevent any federal institution of higher education or a person who’s partnered with a governmental entity or higher educational institution from conducting research in Alabama regarding the production of cultivated food products.
Alabama’s ban follows Florida’s legal precedent taken earlier this month. Florida governor Ron DeSantis says his state will increase meat production and encourage residents to consume 100 percent real beef.