DeSantis Signs Legislation Banning Lab-Grown Meat

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Lab-grown meat from the US is presented. (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN’s Brooke Mallory
4:02 PM – Wednesday, May 1, 2024

On Wednesday, Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation outlawing the production and distribution of lab-grown meat in the state of Florida.

It is set to go into effect on July 1^st.

SB 1084 forbids the production, distribution, or sale of farmed meat within the state and imposes fines for doing so.

It also forbids local governments from enacting their own regulations and preempts the state’s regulation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

Additionally, it establishes guidelines for the removal, gathering, and retailing of “saw palmetto berries.”

Lastly, the state’s trespassing charges against suspects on commercial agricultural land are strengthened by the new law, as Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson highlighted on Wednesday.

At a press conference, DeSantis (R-Fla.) described how groups like the World Economic Forum (WEF) are promoting their own ideological stances in the agriculture sector.

“These will be people who lecture us about things like global warming, they will say that you can’t drive an internal combustion engine vehicle, they’ll say that agriculture’s bad, meanwhile, they’re flying to Davos in their private jets,” DeSantis said.

A real case of “rules for thee, but not for me.”

“So this is really a vision of imposing restrictions on freedoms for everyday people, while these elites are effectively pulling the stings, calling the shots, and doing whatever the hell they want to do in their own lives,” DeSantis added.

In the state of Florida, the governor declared that World Economic Forum policies are “dead on arrival.”

However, he also clarified that market competitiveness is not the reason behind the organization’s concentration on promoting lab-grown meat.

“Because they know if that was put out their to compete with normal beef, that they would lose,” DeSantis said. “So I recognize some of these threats that we’re seeing from some of these elites throughout the world, in places like Davos,” he added. “I understand that they put a target on the back of agriculture,” DeSantis added. “We stand with agriculture, with with ranchers, we stand with our farmers, because we understand it’s important for the backbone of the state, it’s important for our culture, it’s important for our heritage.”

The Florida Cattleman Association’s incoming president, Dale Carlton, discussed how the bill will particularly benefit the state’s ranchers and cattlemen.

“We thank you for passing strong legislation that protects this industry and the citizens of our great state,” Carlton said.

The primary sponsor of the law, Sen. Jay Collins (R-Tampa) who comes from a farming family, expressed how vital the bill was. He described how Democrat policies in the state previously caused his family to lose their land.

“Here’s what I don’t want to have happen. I can’t stand idly by and watch that happen to other people in our great state of Florida,” Collins said. “It’s amazing to have leadership in Governor DeSantis, Commissioner Simpson, and so many others fighting tooth and nail for our agriculture,” he added.

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