Nebraska Becomes Sixth U.S. State to Ban Lab-Grown Meat

“Lab-grown meat will continue to face pushback as people learn more about how it is manufactured.”

Lab-grown meat being observed.
Lab-grown meat being observed.
iStock/Liubomyr Vorona

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed a lab-grown meat ban into law, making Nebraska the sixth U.S. state to do so.

“Lab-grown meat will continue to face pushback as people learn more about how it is manufactured,” said Jack Hubbard, executive director of the Center for the Environment and Welfare (CEW), one of the leading critics of lab-grown meat. “Consumers and lawmakers are understandably concerned about the lack of long-term health studies and use of immortal cells, so we expect the bipartisan opposition to lab-grown meat bans to keep picking up steam.”

Nebraska joins Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, and Indiana as the states that have enacted bans on lab-grown meat.

CEW launched a public education campaign in 2023 to help consumers and lawmakers get the facts about the emerging industry. For example, supporters often claim that lab-grown meat is more sustainable than traditional, farm-raised meat products. However, researchers at UC Davis believe lab-grown meat could have 25 times the environmental impact of farm-raised meat.

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