Following an executive order last year prohibiting Nebraska state agencies from buying lab-grown meat, Nebraska’s Governor Jim Pillen recently vocalized his support of proposed bill LB246.
The National Agricultural Law Center says the bill would ban the manufacturing, production, importation, distribution, and sale of lab-grown meat in Nebraska by classifying “cultivated-protein food product” as an adulterant. It was introduced at the governor’s request and has been referred to the Agriculture Committee. To become law, it has to pass the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature and get signed into law by the governor.
Also, a bill defining and requiring lab-grown meat to be clearly labeled has advanced through a committee in the South Dakota House of Representatives. HB1022 defines “cell-cultured protein” and classifies cell-cultured proteins that are not labeled as such to be misbranded. The bill has to pass both the South Dakota House and Senate and be signed into law by the governor.
