Missouri lawmakers are weighing legislation that would ban the sale of lab-grown – or cell-cultured – meat in the state.
Rep. Brad Pollitt, R-Sedalia, one of the bill's sponsors, is motivated by a concern for the future of farmers and the livestock industry, which contributes about $93 billion a year to Missouri’s economy. Pollitt, who also owns a cattle operation, said while lab-grown meat may still be years away from widespread use, the conversation about its effects on traditional agriculture needs to start now.
"We’ve lost so many farmers in the state of Missouri, but also in the United States," Pollitt pointed out. "Those numbers are dwindling. And whether it’s growing cell-based meat in a lab situation or whether it’s putting solar panels on very productive farmland, those are things that I’m very concerned about."
Proponents of lab-grown meat argued it could cut greenhouse gas emissions, use less land and water than traditional livestock, and provide another protein source without animal slaughter as global food demand grows. Pollitt's bill was introduced in the Missouri House on Jan. 7. It has been put up for a second reading but hasn't yet advanced to a committee or a hearing.
Critics of lab-grown meat have also said the technology is still largely untested at scale. Pollitt noted it raises questions about how the product is grown and what is added in the process.
"The cell protein things where you take the animal cells, you put them in a lab, you put them in a petri dish, and you start adding chemicals and add growth things to them and actually start growing the meat," Pollitt outlined. "That’s one of my big concerns is, what’s going to go into that, in order to grow it?"
He noted some farm groups said they are confident they could compete with lab-grown products, but he questions whether cell-cultured meat should be in the marketplace at all, especially as federal health agencies warn Americans to limit ultra-processed foods and as questions remain about what additives are used to grow meat in a lab.
Missouri News Service, a partner with KRCU Public Radio, originally published this story.
