The Florida Senate has passed a bill prohibiting the sale of lab-grown meat. According to R-Tampa representative Jay Collins, cell-cultured meat technology requires more assurances of safety before it is deemed a feasible alternative to conventional meats.

A similar bill was proposed in November 2023 by Florida Republican legislator Tyler Sirois and received support from the Florida Cattlemen’s Association. This included fines upward of USD 500 and immediate cease and desist orders.

Analyst QuickTake: This development adds Florida to a growing list of states that have passed or are planning to enact bans against the development and distribution of cell-cultured meat, including Arizona and Alabama . Further, in January this year, several US senators proposed to ban cell-cultivated meats in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. If this trend continues, it could effectively hinder the progression of the cultivated meat industry in the US—despite being one of the three countries, alongside Singapore and Israel—that have approved the sale of cultivated meats.