Would you eat a hamburger if it was created in a lab as opposed to being real meat from a cow? It’s a question that could be debated [soon by Alabama’s] Legislature.
House Bill 518, sponsored by Athens Rep. Danny Crawford, R-Athens, would require food manufacturers to label products derived from cell cultures being sold in Alabama as not being real meat. Such products aren’t available for public consumption yet, but those supporting the bill say it’s only a matter of time.
Erin Beasley, executive vice president for the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, explained federal laws don’t address the issue of labeling, and that Crawford’s bill instead represents a pre-emptive strike. Crawford chairs the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee. Sen. David Sessions, R-Mobile, is carrying a version of the bill in the Senate.
[Editor’s note: According to Matt Ball of the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit that promotes lab-grown and plant-based products, the proposed bills (HB 518 and SB 369) would impose a negative requirement — that cell-based product labels are not labeled as meat, rather than requiring anything specific be put on labels.]
Read full, original article: Alabama bill would require lab-grown meat to be labeled
