Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey recently signed legislation banning cell-cultured meat in their states. They apparently discovered that lab-grown meat, rather than meat stripped from factory-farmed animals, is so repellent that its production, distribution, and sale are treated with a light sentence worthy of prison time. I think it's a sin. In fact, when Mr. DeSantis signed the ban, he was “fighting back against the plans of global elites to force the world to eat meat and insects grown in petri dishes to achieve their authoritarian goals.” “There is,” he said.
You might expect nonsense like this to be greeted with wide eyes. But in a rare example of bipartisan support, Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania also jumped on board.he spent his last week Post online supporting ban on cell-cultured meatAnd he said the “beauty of democracy” is that some people can join the “pro-bio-slop caucus,” while others can join him and DeSantis in the “pro-lib-eye caucus.” .
DeSantis, Ivey, and Fetterman are wrong about cell-cultured meat and democracy. Cell-cultured meat is one of several meat alternatives that have the potential to become part of future food systems that are humane, healthy, and environmentally sustainable. And the kind of democracy our leaders claim to admire doesn't ban what it doesn't like, much less understand. New agricultural industries should be able to compete freely with the status quo. The story of the ban is similar to the buggy-whip industry trying to ban cars in a bout of Luddite protectionism.
Forget for a moment the horrific suffering animals endure to end up in grocery stores as packaged scraps. Consider the environmental toll it takes to feed a ribeye coalition. Raising cows and other animals for food consumes vast amounts of scarce land and water. An estimated 80% of agricultural land is used for animal grazing and feed production. It also generates large amounts of waste, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions, and is a major cause of deforestation, biodiversity loss, and climate change. Is this the industry DeSantis, Ivey and Fetterman want to protect from disruption?
There is no reason to ban cell-cultured meat at this early stage of development. On the contrary, there is only reason to actively consider all options to build an industry that can produce nutritious and delicious food while improving animal welfare, disease control, and environmental protection. Governments are investing in research and development to find better alternatives to practices that breed, raise, and kill tens of billions of cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, fish, and other animals annually, often in cramped and toxic conditions. We should consider whether it can be developed. It harms animals, workers, and consumers alike.
DeSantis, Ivey, Fetterman and state officials in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia, which are reportedly considering bans, will decide whether to ban the production of certain types of meat. If you want to discuss it, it's possible. But it might not work out the way they expected. In capitalist liberal democracies like the United States, governments are only supposed to intervene in market activities in certain circumstances, such as when market activities are causing large-scale and unnecessary harm without people's consent. There is. What happens when you apply that standard to different meat production methods?
The production of cell-cultured meat, plant-based meat, and other such alternatives is not harmful enough to warrant a ban. But ironically, that's what industrial animal agriculture does. It takes a huge toll on everyone, whether we participate or not. The recent outbreak of avian influenza on dairy farms is just one of countless dangerous external phenomena that warrant government intervention.
This is not to say that governments should or can ban industrial livestock farming overnight. Like the phasing out of fossil fuels, phasing out industrial animal agriculture will be a multi-decade process. Companies need to scale up production of meat alternatives, and governments need to support this effort through fiscal and regulatory policies. Governments also need to ensure everyone has access to food and income along the way, in a “just transition” for consumers and workers.
We can say this with confidence. If we do this, we may eventually be able to ban industrial animal agriculture. In any case, cell-cultured meat should not be banned at this early stage.
So, DeSantis, Ivey, Fetterman, embrace good old American innovation. Join a coalition of people who want to keep producing the food you claim to love without the animal suffering, disease outbreaks, and environmental damage that makes it unsustainable.
Arthur L. Caplan heads the Department of Medical Ethics at New York University Grossman School of Medicine. Jeff Sebo is an associate professor of environmental studies and an associate professor of bioethics, medical ethics, philosophy, and law at New York University. His latest book is “Save the Animals, Save Ourselves.''
