Florida's Lab-Grown Meat Ban Survives Federal Court Challenge

Florida's cultivated meat ban, signed into law by Governor DeSantis on May 1, 2024, took effect July 1, 2024, and has now survived its first major legal test. A three-judge panel on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that SB 1084 does not conflict with federal laws regulating poultry, allowing Florida's prohibition on the manufacture, sale, and distribution of lab-grown meat to remain in effect.

Upside Foods, which grows and sells cultivated chicken at facilities outside Florida, filed suit after the law took effect, arguing it violated the Commerce Clause and Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker had previously dismissed the case, and Monday's appellate ruling upheld that decision. "Because Florida's ban on lab-grown meat does not regulate Upside's ingredients, premises, facilities, or operations, federal law does not preempt SB 1084," wrote Judge Andrew Brasher, a Trump appointee, in the panel's decision.

The legislation has sparked debate over whether the ban protects public health or merely shields Florida's substantial conventional meat industry from competition. The USDA and FDA have both determined that cultivated meat is as safe as conventional chicken, according to legal challenges to the law. However, Governor DeSantis framed the ban as opposition to "the global elite's plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs to achieve their authoritarian goals." At the signing ceremony in Hardee County, the governor and state agriculture officials touted the law as a measure to "save our beef" and "protect our farmers."

The Institute for Justice, which joined Upside Foods in challenging the ban, argued that Florida's law was enacted specifically to protect in-state economic interests, noting that no cultivated meat manufacturers operate in Florida—all are based out of state. Despite the appellate court's ruling, it remains unclear whether Upside Foods will pursue further legal action.