Most Americans Opposed To Cultivated Meat Ban After Tasting It, Says Study

Research suggests that most Americans oppose cultivated meat bans, regardless of their political affiliation, and see it as an issue of consumer freedom and national values.

A group of researchers from Boston’s Tufts University has written a paper on the public perception of cultivated meat. The team based their project on a public tasting event that took place in Florida, and published their results in npj Science of Food earlier this month.

In 2024, Governor Ron DeSantis banned cultivated meat in the state of Florida. However, before the ban was rolled out, Californian food tech company UPSIDE Foods hosted the “Freedom of Food Pop-Up,” a tasting event featuring its own cultivated chicken.

The majority of people who tried UPSIDE’s chicken opposed the ban, regardless of political affiliation. The study authors described these findings as “remarkable,” and noted that “all seemed united against government interference in small business innovations working towards societal betterment,” particularly in a state that supports small government.

“Banning cultivated meat sets a really terrible precedent in this country,” said one attendee. “Completely based on scare tactics and political nonsense. We don’t ban foods in America. That’s not who we are, that’s just not what we do. This isn’t Four Loko. There’s no science behind the ban. It’s nonsense.”

Diversification of food systems is what ‘being an American is all about’

Photo shows a poster for the UPSIDE Foods "Freedom of Food Pop-Up" tasting event for cultivated meat — UPSIDE Foods / npj Science of Food Misinformation about the industry is still common among members of the public

Despite majority opposition to cultivated meat bans, taste evaluations of UPSIDE’s chicken remained mixed. Some attendees described it as indistinguishable from conventional meat, while others compared it to common plant-based proteins. Several people also asserted that the public remains misinformed about the topic, but many also referenced incorrect information themselves, about both the cultivated meat and plant-based meat industries.

UPSIDE Foods, along with GOOD Meat, was one of the first companies to receive permission from the USDA to produce and sell cultivated meat products in the US. In April, UPSIDE’s lawsuit against the Florida ban achieved a first-round victory and will proceed.

Both Alabama and Mississippi have introduced similar bans, and other states – including South Dakota, Nebraska, and Arizona – have looked into banning or restricting sales.

Speaking at the taste test event last year, UPSIDE CEO Uma Valeti said, “We are here to talk about how this… Is really good for Floridians, Americans, and also for the global stage.” She added that what “comes to the table” cannot be taken for granted, and highlighted “diversification” as both necessary and what “being an American is all about.”