Nebraska Governor Takes Steps Towards Banning Cultivated Meat

Nebraska may become the third US state to ban cultivated meat after Governor Jim Pillen signed an executive order limiting its sale.

The order forbids state agencies from buying cultivated meat products. It also requires businesses that contract with the state not to discriminate against “natural-meat producers” in favor of cultivated meat producers. Meanwhile, new labeling regulations from Nebraska Department of Agriculture will require manufactured protein or cultivated meat to be clearly distinguishable from meat from animals.

Pillen, whose family runs multiple pig farms, hopes to bring in legislation in 2025 to completely ban the sale of cultivated meat products within Nebraska.

“We’re being proactive and making sure that silly things aren’t happening, because they are happening on the Coasts,” Pillen said during a press conference hosted at a Nebraska cow farm in August, according to the Nebraska Examiner. He said that Nebraska was launching “a full-blown attack on lab-grown meats and fake meat.”

Industry pushback

Aleph Farms steak on a plate with sauce — Aleph Farms New York-based Aleph Farms is one of a number of companies making real meat from cultured cells

Cultivated chicken received approval for sale from the US Department of Agriculture in 2023. Since then, Florida and Alabama have passed laws banning the sale of cultivated meat within the states. In Florida, breaking this law could land you in jail for 60 days. In Alabama, the punishment is up to 90 days in jail and a fine of $500. This is despite cultivated meat not yet having made it onto supermarket shelves or into restaurants beyond a few special dinners.

These laws reflect the power of the meat industry in these states and the US as a whole, where meat companies spend millions on political donations and lobbying efforts to shape legislation in its favor. Florida is the ninth biggest producer of meat from cows in the US. In Alabama, beef is a $2.5 billion industry. Meat production from cows in the biggest agricultural sector in Nebraska, which is also home to a huge $1 billion chicken processing facility owned by Costco.