South Dakota advances bill banning lab-grown meat

A bill banning cultured meat passed the South Dakota House on Monday by defining “cultivated-protein food products” as adulterated food under state law.

The bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Julie Auch, adds lab-grown meat to the list of foods deemed adulterated, a category typically associated with products that are contaminated or unfit for consumption. The measure will now head to the state Senate for consideration.

Lab-grown meat is animal meat produced by cultivating a small sample of animal cells in a nutrient-rich and controlled environment rather than traditional livestock farming. 

During a House Agriculture Committee meeting, Auch said the ban is meant to protect the livestock industry from “a society that is more concerned with climate change and sustainability.”

Republican state Rep. Tesa Schwans also