Farming vs. Lab - Indiana's showdown

By Andi Anderson

Indiana may join the growing number of states considering legislation to ban or restrict lab-grown meat.

Representative Martin Carbaugh, R-Fort Wayne, has expressed concerns about lab-grown or cultivated meat and plans to review actions by other states. “I plan to look into this issue further over the summer and fall months,” Carbaugh said.

According to Kim Tyrrell, an associate director with the National Conference of State Legislators, lawmakers in seven states have introduced legislation to ban cultivated meat.

Alabama and Florida passed bills in May banning the sale of cultivated meat and seafood, and Iowa's governor signed a bill prohibiting schools from buying lab-grown meat. Federal lawmakers are also looking into market restrictions.

Mike Wolf, acting director of Purdue Fort Wayne’s Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics, noted that trending legislative topics like banning cultivated meat are more common now. “Between state legislators there’s professional organizations, and organizations that work with state legislators are kind of think-tank oriented,” he said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the sale of lab-grown meat for the first time in June 2023, allowing California businesses Good Meat and Upside Foods to sell cultivated chicken. Good Meat states that cultivating meat uses basic elements needed to build muscle and fat, mimicking the biological process inside an animal.

Their website claims that cultivated meat is identical to conventional meat at the cellular level.

Despite this, legislators remain cautious. U.S. Senators Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Mike Rounds, R-S.D., introduced a bill to prohibit the use of cultivated meat in school lunch and breakfast programs, but the bill died in committee.

Carbaugh is also concerned about lab-grown meat in Indiana school meal programs.

Various state representatives and senators have not responded to inquiries, and some declined to comment. Tennessee had both state chambers propose bills to prohibit cultivated meat, but they were not passed this year.

Wolf mentioned the business aspect of banning certain products, highlighting the involvement of different interest groups. “There’s meat producers and the ranches and pig farms and chicken farmers, those would be impacted by this,” he said.

“But I do think there’s certainly a cultural political element to this as well.”

Heidi Gant, public relations manager for the Indiana Farm Bureau, said the bureau has not discussed lab-grown meat with legislators. The bureau’s policy book opposes labeling lab-grown and plant-based protein as meat, a stance annually proposed and voted on by members from all 92 counties.

Hogs are Indiana's largest meat product, with roughly 4.5 million hogs in the state as of December 1, according to the USDA. Hogs produced over $1.4 billion in gross income last year, making them the third-highest agricultural product in Indiana.

A lab-grown meat bill was proposed in Indiana’s 2019 legislative session by former Rep. Terry Goodin, D-Austin, aiming to limit what can be labeled as meat. However, the bill did not advance past the committee stage.

As Indiana lawmakers prepare for the next legislative session, the debate over lab-grown meat will likely continue, reflecting broader national discussions on food labeling, safety, and market regulations.

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