A bill banning cultured meat passed the South Dakota House on Monday by defining “cultivated-protein food products” as adulterated food under state law.
The bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Julie Auch, adds lab-grown meat to the list of foods deemed adulterated, a category typically associated with products that are contaminated or unfit for consumption. The measure will now head to the state Senate for consideration.
Lab-grown meat is animal meat produced by cultivating a small sample of animal cells in a nutrient-rich and controlled environment rather than traditional livestock farming.
During a House Agriculture Committee meeting, Auch said the ban is meant to protect the livestock industry from “a society that is more concerned with climate change and sustainability.”
Republican state Rep. Tesa Schwans also voiced support for the ban, citing concerns over possible health risks from consuming meat made in “a petri dish that’s full of hormones and sludge.”
At the federal level, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture share oversight of cultivated meat. In 2023, regulators said there were no safety risks involving the first lab-grown chicken products.
South Dakota lawmakers have considered similar proposals in recent years, including a previous attempt to ban lab-grown meat that failed in the state Senate.
Other measures to regulate cultured meat have focused on labeling requirements and restricting state funds from being used toward cultured meat production.
The matter has gained traction nationally as part of a broader push by Republican lawmakers to emphasize traditional agriculture and limit what they describe as highly processed or engineered foods.
Florida was the first state to ban cultured meat when Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed the bill to protect the beef industry from lab-grown competitors.
Florida’s ban was challenged by Upside Foods, a cultured meat producer, which said it was not looking to steal the industry, but only to have a seat at the table.
EPA ISSUES GUIDANCE BACKING FARMERS ‘RIGHT-TO-REPAIR’ EQUIPMENT
Nebraska was also one of the first states to introduce a ban on lab-grown meat, which Auch said she modeled her ban after.
The moves by GOP lawmakers reflect a broader effort by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to crack down on ultraprocessed foods as part of the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. In the MAHA report, Kennedy said ultraprocessed foods are contributing to diagnoses of chronic diseases and obesity in children.
