PETA calls out legislators’ 'bonehead bill' to ban cell-cultured meat from school lunches

PETA recently fired off a letter to US Senators Mike Rounds (Republican South Dakota) and Jon Tester (Democrat Montana), whose recently introduced School Lunch Integrity Act of 2024 – backed by the US Cattlemen’s Association, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and South Dakota Pork Producers – seeks to pre-emptively ban cultivated meat products from being served in school lunches, proposing that they give their 'bonehead bill' the more accurate name 'Special Interests’ Cruel and & Unhealthy Lunch Advocacy Act of 2024'.

Senator Rounds has expressed concerns about the safety of cultivated meat, saying that "we need to make sure that what we're putting on our tables is safe and healthy". He has also said that he is concerned about the use of antibiotics in cultivated meat production. Tester has echoed these concerns, saying that "we need to make sure that this new technology is safe and that it doesn't harm our children".

Both Rounds and Tester have also expressed concerns about the potential impact of cultivated meat on the livestock industry. Rounds has said that "this could have a devastating impact on our farmers and ranchers". Tester has said that "we need to protect our family farms and ranches".

“This bill shows that these representatives are kowtowing to an industry that’s running scared of something that isn’t even here yet and may never be,” said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges these lawmakers to work for their constituents who are beset with meat-related health issues rather than for special interests who put profits over planetary protection, human health, and the prevention of cruelty to animals.”

PETA notes that billions of cows, pigs, and chickens – intelligent, sensitive individuals who can experience pain and fear – endure short, miserable lives in the US meat industry, which subjects them to extreme crowding, routine mutilations without pain relief, a terrifying trip to the slaughterhouse, and a violent, painful death in which their throat may be slit while they’re still conscious.

In the letter dated 12 February 2024, Ingrid Newkirk, President of PETA, urged Senators Rounds (South Dakota) and Tester (Montana) to "scrap that bonehead bill and put your time and efforts into ensuring that every student has access to fresh, delicious, healthy vegan foods, meaning ones with zero cholesterol and unlikely to clog their arteries and set them on the road to eventual arrival at an ICU".

Further, she stated, "Many children become upset when they learn that the body parts served on school lunch trays are taken from animals who endure profound suffering and are then slaughtered to teach them the same old bad and destructive dietary habits of their parents – people who didn’t have access to the information about health, animal welfare, and other topics that we have today".

"We’ve seen children in 4-H or Future Farmers of America programs cry when they realize that the throat of a cow or pig they have brushed and talked to is going to be slit, Newkirk pointed out. "Cell-cultured meat may never even materialize, despite your fears, but right now, we can teach youngsters to spare the lives of billions of sentient beings, in addition to improving their own health, by opting for vegan foods, including vegan hot dogs, veggie burgers, and dairy-free cheese pizzas. That’s the new mainstream!"

Newkirk also urged the Senators to keep in mind that animal agriculture is also wreaking havoc on the environment – severely damaging the planet that these schoolchildren are in the process of inheriting. "The meat industry is one of the world’s largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation, and I hope our suggestion to rename this bill inspires you to reconsider the favoritism being afforded to special interests that aren’t in the best interests of the next generations."