Pa. lawmakers look to ban this food: ‘Last place we should get our meat’

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WTAJ) — A Pennsylvania lawmaker is looking to ban lab-grown meat in the Commonwealth, saying it’s “the last place we should be getting our meat.”

Rep. Tina Pickett (R-Bradford/Wyoming counties) is the prime sponsor and introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would ban the manufacturing and sale of lab-grown meat in Pennsylvania.

“Pennsylvania’s hard-working farmers breed and raise the animals that become the meat products found at our local supermarkets,” Pickett said in a release. “But what would happen should a billion-dollar movement be successful in bringing lab-grown meat to our tables instead of the high-quality products we now enjoy? That could become a reality if Pennsylvania doesn’t join other states in banning lab-grown meat.”

Rep. Clint Owlett (R-Tioga/Bradford counties) who is a prime co-sponsor of the bill added: “Generations of farmers have devoted their lives to raising top-quality animals that produce top-quality meats, both from a health and taste perspective. The last place we should be getting our meat from is a lab. Farming is a way of life in Pennsylvania, and we should do all we can to preserve it.”

Florida became the first state in the country to pass such a law against lab-grown meat earlier this year. Alabama followed suit shortly after. The Florida law makes it “unlawful for any person to manufacture for sale, sell, hold or offer for sale, or distribute cultivated meat” in the state, with violators facing up to 60 days in jail. In Alabama, the penalty is up to 90 days behind bars and a $500 fine.

Pickett, while Republican, has a Democratic ally for this bill in the U.S. Senate. Senator John Fetterman voiced support when Florida passed its law, saying he would never serve “that slop” to his kids. He added that he stands with American ranchers and farmers.

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House Bill 2441 was referred to the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee in June, reaching the House of Representatives in October.

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