DeSantis says 'take your fake meat elsewhere' and signs bill banning lab-grown meat

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to "save our beef."

At a press conference in Wauchula, Florida, DeSantis signed a bill that would outlaw the manufacture and distribution of lab-grown meat in the state, a "threat" to Florida's agriculture, he said.

"Take your fake lab-grown meat elsewhere. We're not doing that in the state of Florida," DeSantis said before he signed SB 1084, which he touts as the first-in-the-nation law to protect farmers and the "integrity of American agriculture."

DeSantis made fun of liberal elites who advocate for "fake meat" as a way to combat climate change.

"They will say that you can't drive an internal combustion engine vehicle. They'll say that agriculture is bad. Meanwhile, they're flying to Davos in their private jets," DeSantis said.

He also poked fun at The World Economic Forum, an international non-governmental organization in Switzerland, that has advocated for insects as an alternative edible protein source instead of animal protein.

"I'm sure they'll say 'hey, wait a minute, just hear us out before you say yuck,'" joked DeSantis. "To that I say Florida has heard enough on that."

The agriculture bill, sponsored by Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, also preempts local regulations for electric vehicles and prohibits the willful destroying, harvesting or selling of saw palmetto berries on private or public land without permission. It also increases penalties for trespassing on commercial agricultural property.

Lab-grown meat is meat developed from animal stem cells. The first cultivated beef patty was created in 2013, and as of 2023, there were about 60 startups around the world working to produce lab-grown meat.

The ban does not include Impossible meat, which is made from plant-based ingredients.

A potential research ban was removed from earlier versions of the bill because of concerns that such a ban could affect the space industry, which is looking at cultivated meats for long-term space journeys.

Wauchula is in Hardee County, one of the top counties in Florida for cattle farming. The county with the highest count of cattle is Okeechobee, with 165,000 in 2022.

Most cattle in Florida is raised for beef. In 2024, the state ranked ninth for beef cattle production with 862,000. Almost 50% of the state's land set aside for agriculture is for cattle, according to the Range Cattle Research & Education Center at the University of Florida.

Beef cattle sales and sales of breeding stock generate a total economic impact of over $900 million annually, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson applauded DeSantis and the state legislature for the bill, saying "food security is our national security" to a crowd of cattle ranchers and Hardee County residents.

"Who wants to have a biomass shipped to their house, put into a tank, grown in a lab, and then put it through a 3D printer to make it look like a steak you want to eat?" Simpson said.

In March, when the bill was being debated in the Florida House, Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, D-Parkland, said the “food fight” part of the bill “sends a bad message” to researchers and investors about cultivated meat, according to the News Service of Florida.

“I think it will deter future manufacturers from coming to Florida because they don't know what day of the week that the Legislature will be OK with them being in the state of Florida,” Hunschofsky said.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this story. Ana Goñi-Lessan is the State Watchdog Reporter for USA TODAY - Florida and can be reached at AGoniLessan@tallahassee.com. 

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Gov. Ron DeSantis signs lab-grown meat ban in Florida