A Florida court of appeals has upheld a state ban on cultivated meat – products grown in fermentation vats from animal cells.
Upside Foods, which manufactured cultivated chicken in California, sued the state after its July, 2024, ban took effect, but the three-judge panel ruled that the ban does not conflict with federal law.
“Because Florida’s ban on lab-grown meat does not regulate Upside’s ingredients, premises, facilities, or operations, federal law does not pre-empt” the Florida ban Judge Andrew Brasher wrote in the court’s ruling.
The 11th Circuit’s ruling follows a previous dismissal from an Obama-appointed judge in the Northern District of Florida.
“Another win for Real Food — another loss for Frankenmeat,” Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson said.
“Today’s ruling to uphold Florida’s ban on lab-grown ‘meat’ is a huge win for the state and for our consumers. Lab-grown ‘meat’ is not proven to be safe enough for consumers, and it is being pushed by a liberal agenda to shut down farms.”
