TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CBS12) — A federal appeals court has decided that Florida can continue enforcing its ban on lab-grown meat, keeping the state’s restrictions fully in place.
The ruling came Monday from a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that the ban does not conflict with federal regulations.
The case was brought by Upside Foods, a California company that makes cultivated chicken approved for U.S. sale in 2022. The company argued that federal oversight should override Florida’s restrictions, but the court said the state’s law doesn’t interfere with federal control over meat production.
Florida leaders who backed the ban celebrated the ruling. Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson said it protects traditional farmers and argued that lab-grown meat isn’t proven safe. Gov. Ron DeSantis also praised the decision, saying lab-grown meat won’t be allowed in Florida.
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The law at the center of the case is SB 1084, which took effect in July 2024. It bans the manufacture, sale, and distribution of cultivated meat in Florida. The state was the first in the nation to pass such a ban, and six states — Alabama, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, and Texas — have since followed.
Supporters of cultivated meat argue that these bans block a growing industry, eliminate future jobs, and shut down marketplace competition before the products can gain a foothold. Upside Foods has not said whether it will appeal again.