TALLAHASSEE, Florida — A California company that sells lab-grown meat is asking a federal court to block Florida's ban on the product, which was the first in the nation.
UPSIDE Foods Inc. of Berkeley argued in its lawsuit, filed Monday in Tallahassee, that the law that was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 1 violates the U. S. Constitution.
Paul Sherman — a senior attorney with the libertarian-leaning Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm that filed the lawsuit — told reporters on Tuesday that UPSIDE Foods soon will request a preliminary injunction so the company can offer lab-grown meat samples at a Miami Beach art festival later this year.
When he signed the legislation into law, DeSantis said that a ban was needed to protect the state's cattle industry from international "elites" who he said want to phase out farms.
"Take your fake lab-grown meat elsewhere,” DeSantis said. "We're not doing that in the state of Florida.”
But UPSIDE Foods CEO and founder Uma Valeti, a cardiologist, said during a call with reporters Tuesday that there is no effort by his company to replace conventional meat. He said lab grown meat offers an ethical alternative to slaughtering animals.
Wilton Simpson, Florida's Republican agriculture commissioner, on Tuesday called the lawsuit "ridiculous" and said it was an attempt by liberals "to shut down farms." His department is responsible for enforcing state food safety laws.
The company says lab grown meat can reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change and the need for land used to produce conventional meat.
Florida's ban on lab-grown meat was the first in the nation, Sherman said, with a similar ban in Alabama going into effect later this year. He argued that bans like the one imposed by Florida could be used similarly by states to ban conventional meat or other food products.
"If consumers don't like the idea of cultivated meat, there's a simple solution — they don't have to eat it," Sherman said. "But they can't make that decision for other consumers."
The state agriculture department bill, FL SB1084 (24R), passed the Senate 26-10 and passed the House 86-27 largely along party lines. Democrats argued that the bill sent a bad message that the state was interested in banning new, innovative types of food.
Bill supporters labeled the product "fake meat" and questioned its safety, although the USDA under President Joe Biden has approved it for sale. And Simpson on Tuesday called it a "Frankenmeat experiment" that should be left to California.
"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," Simpson said.
Valeti said in response that the FDA and USDA have affirmed the safety of cultivated meat and that his facilities are routinely inspected by the USDA.
Sherman said federal laws preempt local regulation of ingredients in poultry products and the facilities where they are produced.
"If states have the power to ban meats they don't like, that would give a liberal state the power to ban conventional meat in favor of cultivated meat," Sherman said. "That is simply not the role of the states in our common market."
The lawsuit was filed against Simpson, Attorney General Ashley Moody and four state attorneys.
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