TALLAHASSEE – A cultured poultry producer is suing the state of Florida over the ban on lab-grown products signed by Governor DeSantis last May.
Upside Foods and the Institute for Justice, a libertarian nonprofit legal organization, argue that the Constitution guarantees a common market among the states and does not allow states to ban government-approved products from other states.
When Governor DeSantis signed the bill in Wauchula in May, he said lab-grown meat was part of a conspiracy by the “elites in Davos” (Switzerland, home of the World Economic Forum) who blame farmers for climate change and want to justify a ban on conventional meat products by pointing to lab-grown meat as an alternative.
Dr Uma Valeti, the founder of Upside, stresses that his aim is not to replace conventional meat, but to give consumers a choice in the face of increasing demand for meat. He says watching the debate in Parliament this year is like listening to government bodies from hundreds of years ago trying to suppress emerging innovations of the past.
The lawsuit names Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Attorney General Ashley Moody and four district attorneys in Clearwater, Orlando, Miami and Tallahassee. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to allow UPSIDE to resume hosting wine tastings and other events in Florida.
Simpson calls the lawsuit “ridiculous” and says that “the safety of lab-grown meat for consumers has not been proven. Leave the Frankenmeat experiment to California,” he adds.
However, Upside and the IJ point to comments made by Simpson, DeSantis and state lawmakers ahead of the bill’s passage and argue that the issue is not about safety but about protecting Florida farmers from competition.
Paul Sherman, an IJ attorney, pointed out that DeSantis’ argument could be reversed in Democratic states. “That would give a liberal state the power to ban conventional meat in favor of cultured meat,” said Sherman, who says his group would oppose both types of bans.
If you don’t like cultured meat, Sherman says, the simple answer is: don’t eat it.
This story uses information from the News Service of Florida.
Photo: Canva