Northern Arizona representatives want to take down cell-cultivated meat

In the USA (Arizona), a Prescott Valley lawmaker wants to make it illegal to represent a product that’s not actually from a live animal as meat.

Republican Quang Nguyen is the sponsor of House Bill 2244. The bill specifically says products produced in a laboratory from cells cultured in a laboratory from an animal can’t be described as meat. Nor can any "synthetic product derived from a plant, insect or other source''.

Nguyen told Capitol Media Services it’s a matter of transparency.

A measure from Republican David Marshall of Snowflake wants to go even further.

House Bill 2121 would prohibit the production or sale of any lab-grown meat entirely in Arizona. The measure includes a legislative declaration saying Arizona’s cattle ranching industry "is integral to this state's history, culture, values and economy”. And it would let anyone whose business is harmed by the sale of lab meat to collect damages up to US$100,000.

The US Department of Agriculture approved the sale of cultivated meat last year. However, it has yet to hit grocery store shelves.

Hearing dates have not been set yet for either measure.