Florida banned lab-grown meat this week in a decision that was derided by many commentators as a silly encroachment on the free market, but the Sunshine State’s policy is actually protecting an industry that employs hundreds of thousands of people from destruction.
While not yet a widely available commercial product, lab-grown meat, which is grown from existing animal cells, is widely seen as the future of food production. Advocates of the product say it is no different from farm-grown meat and is necessary to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.
The push for lab-grown meat is also seen as a project of the global elite, embodied by the World Economic Forum, which has advanced various ideas to change drastically the kind of food that people consume. The most famous of these is calling for insects to be a staple of human diets to curb climate change.
Eating bugs aside, the proliferation of lab-grown meat will have far-reaching effects that will devastate entire communities that rely on cattle farming.
At a press conference to sign the bill, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) was joined by cattle ranchers, whom he singled out as deserving of support.
“In the state of Florida, we’ve put down the marker very clearly: We stand with agriculture,” the governor said. “We stand with the cattle ranchers. We stand with our farmers. Because we understand it’s important for the backbone of the state. It’s important for the culture. It’s important for our heritage.”
DeSantis also took a shot at the forces pushing lab-grown meat, saying, “Today, Florida is fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs to achieve their authoritarian goals.”
While the World Economic Forum is an easy villain, banning lab-grown meat is a good policy because it protects the farming industry from a technological advancement that threatens its very existence and, with it, the livelihoods of entire communities.
People settle down in places where they are able to provide for their families. Places that offer good-paying jobs with a stable industry that ensures the community has lasting roots that can endure across generations.
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When the economic engine of a community is taken away, socioeconomic destitution sets in as capital declines and families break apart. Those who remain in the community increasingly look to desperate and ill-conceived means to provide for their basic needs. One only needs to look to the old steel towns of the Midwest to see what a catastrophic loss of industry can do to a community.
By banning the sale of lab-grown meat in the Sunshine State, DeSantis is ensuring that the communities relying on the farming industry to survive will endure for generations. It’s a good policy, and more states should follow suit.