Two bills introduced in the Arizona Legislature hint at a potential regulatory stance against lab-grown meat within the state. The primary bill, House Bill 2121, sponsored by Arizona State Rep. David Marshall and co-sponsored by four others, seeks to prohibit the sale or production of cell-cultured animal products for human consumption in Arizona. Violations of this prohibition may result in civil penalties, allowing the state to impose fines, attorney fees, and costs, with total damages capped at $100,000. A second bill, HB2244, introduced by Rep. Huang Nguyen, aims to prevent the intentional misrepresentation of lab-grown meat products to consumers.
The legislative findings outlined in HB2121 emphasize the importance of regulating cell-cultured animal products to protect public health. It also underlines the integral role of Arizona’s cattle ranching industry in its history, culture, values, and economy. Concerns are raised about potential harm to state trust land beneficiaries and the traditional livestock industry. The bill contends that the production and sale of lab-grown, cell-cultured animal products could jeopardize the highest and best use of state trust land, including leasing land to ranchers for livestock grazing to fund public schools and other institutions.
In contrast to the United States, where joint regulation by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and the FDA has been established since 2019 for lab-grown meat safety, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has yet to receive a proposal for cell-cultured meat. Meanwhile, Italy has taken a definitive stance on this issue by banning cultivated meat production to protect its cultural traditions and mitigate perceived social and economic risks associated with synthetic food. The Agriculture Minister of Italy, Francesco Lollobrigida, proudly declared Italy as the world’s first country to safeguard itself from such risks through this ban.
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