Texas has banned the sale and production of labgrown meat, making it the fifth state this year and seventh overall to ban lab-grown meat after Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation temporarily prohibiting the sale of cellcultured protein.
The Texas state legislature approved Senate Bill 261 this past June and prohibits the sale and distribution of cultivated or lab-grown meat for human consumption and includes both civil and criminal penalties for violations. It officially took effect in November and is being challenged in a federal lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims the ban violates the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause by shielding an instate industry from out-ofstate competition. It also alleges the law restricts consumer choice, stifles innovation, and violates freedom of speech.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, an advocate of bill, cited concerns about food safety and the potential negative impact on the state’s livestock market and family farms and ranches.
“This ban is a massive win for Texas ranchers, producers, and consumers,” Miller said in a statement following the bill’s passage. “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.”
The Texas beef industry supported the bill. The state leads the nation in cattle, contributing almost 15% of U.S. beef production, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Lab-grown presents significant challenges to traditional ranchers and the livestock industry, primarily by creating economic uncertainty, raising regulatory and labeling disputes, and sparking cultural and political debates.
Lab-grown meat differs from real meat in the texture being less fibrous, lacking natural B12 and iron, and production potentially having a higher environmental impact and cost. The FDA has approved some cultivated meat products as safe to sell, but long-term health effects are unknown.
In comparing the two, studies have shown there are critical differences: - Real meat has complex fibers and natural fat marbling from an animal’ s movement; lab-grown meat can be softer and uniform unless scaffolding is used.
- Cultivated meat can be fortified but might miss natural micronutrients (B vitamins, minerals, creatine) and metabolites found in traditional meat, requiring supplementation because it cannot replicate natural complexity.
- It’s harder to replicate natural fat marbling in cultivated meat, though fat cells can be grown alongside muscle cells.
- The chemicals, biologics, and other components used to grow labgrown meat can become contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms. Some scientists say there are legitimate oncological concerns on studying the safety of eating such cell lines which warrants further research.
- Early production methods of cultivated meat are energy-intensive and could have a worse climate footprint than beef, depending on energy sources.
- Current production is expensive and requires significant scaling to be competitive. Lab-grown meat costs about $17 a pound, making it unaffordable for most consumers.
Texas joins Indiana, Mississippi, Montana and Nebraska in enacting new laws this year; Alabama and Florida did so last year. In March, the Oklahoma House approved a similar bill that did not advance out of the Senate this session.