A measure banning the sale of cell-cultured “meats” was passed by Texas lawmakers during the 89th legislative session and has been approved by Gov. Greg Abbott, making Texas the seventh state to institute such a ban.
Senate Bill 261, authored by State Sen. Charles Perry (R–Lubbock), bans the sale of cell-cultured meat products, and violators face civil and criminal penalties.
According to the text, “cell-cultured” is defined as “a food product derived from harvesting animal cells and artificially replicating those cells in a growth medium to produce tissue.”
The new law will take effect on September 1, and the ban will expire after two years. If the sale of cell-cultured meat is allowed after that, it must be clearly labeled with the terms “lab-grown,” “cell-cultured,” or something similar.
“This ban is a massive win for Texas ranchers, producers, and consumers,” said Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller.
“Texans have a God-given right to know what’s on their plate, and for millions of Texans, it better come from a pasture, not a lab. It’s plain cowboy logic that we must safeguard our real, authentic meat industry from synthetic alternatives.”
In recent years, there has been a push for the production and research of “sustainable” lab-grown and plant-based protein by liberal billionaires, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
