Florida Banning Lab Grown Meat is a Big Deal

Last week, Florida became the first state to ban selling meat that is grown in a laboratory. People in the growing Miami tech scene were shocked

Florida isn’t alone. States like Alabama, Arizona, and Tennessee are similarly moving to preemptively ban this product that has yet to hit the market.

DeSantis is treating lab grown meat as a cultural issue. It’s like an extension of the vaccine debate we had during Covid.

@freestateofflorida

Florida stands with its cattle ranchers and farmers 👊🌾🤠🐄 #desantis #labgrownmeat

DeSantis cited two reasons for the ban.

1. He will save Florida’s farmers and ranchers. Both traditional constituents of the GOP.

2. He also portrayed the ban as a defiant stand against "global elites," whom he accused of harboring a sinister agenda: to coerce global populations into substituting traditional meats with lab-grown alternatives or even insects, under the guise of addressing food shortages.

This ban on lab grown meat is being reported like any other news but this decision could prove monumentally influential in the years to come. Let me explain why.

America and Technology

America is always at the cutting edge and it welcomes every new technology with open arms. It’s not just the cell phones or internet. Think of the new weight loss drug Ozempic, the biggest market is America. It’s the same with other Pharma drugs too. Americans are just more open to new stuff.

I’ve never seen a product be banned before it even hits the shelf. This is a first.

But it may be a common thing going forward. A lot of new technologies and foods are coming that are. Maybe America is too permissive with the types of things we allow. We banned trans-fats after seeing decades of harm. Substances like Seed Oils are in everything and people are questioning it. Or even plastics.

Lab grown meat is not Lindy, and I’m not going to touch it for at least 20 years. But it does seem weird to ban it before it even gets here.

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Critics argue that if lab-grown meat gains even a small foothold, it could: infiltrate the entire food supply, much like seed oils, pesticides, and plastics have. They envision a future where lab-grown meat is ubiquitous, featured in every restaurant, mixed with traditional meat, and becomes another ingredient consumers must vigilantly monitor.

Meanwhile proponents of lab meat argue it:

• reduces the environmental impact of livestock farming.

• eliminates the need for mistreatment of animals.

• allows for customized nutritional profiles, enabling producers to enhance meat with vitamins and optimize fat content.

Both good arguments. Unless there is a serious health concern, America traditionally lets the market decide. Until now.

America and The Culture Wars

What if the future of American technology isn’t going to be about mass adoption anymore? What if the future of American technology will resemble something like the Abortion map, with some states allowing some technology and others not.

There does seem to be something un-American about banning new technologies even if they are unknowingly harmful. But maybe this is where we are going.

What if the end result of the red state/blue state divide is different laws?

In This Newsletter

New Technologies are coming but they will be like the older ones. They will transform our economy and world. Self-Driving Cars, Artificial Intelligence, Unlike Uber they will not create jobs, they could destroy jobs. Or they will change how we

1) Can We Predict What Technology Will Be Banned in The States? Conservatives and Liberals may have to start banning things that harm their constituents.

2) It’s a Good Thing for American States to Experiment with Laws. Every state should become a mini-lab. California's liberal policies versus Florida’s sunshine-soaked conservatism. What works? What doesn’t? The variety is staggering, and it's a golden opportunity for America.

What Will The States Ban?

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