In Defense of Banning Fake Meat

Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Alabama governor Kay Ivey have banned the sale of lab-grown meat in their states. Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman denounced the “Pro-Bio Slop” caucus in a statement supporting DeSantis. Other states, such as Tennessee, Alabama, and Arizona, are considering similar legislation. The slightly conspiratorial edge in Fetterman’s rhetoric is shared by the defenders of beef and pork raised the old-fashioned way, from animals. When DeSantis signed his bill he said, “Florida is fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs to achieve their authoritarian goals.”

Immediately, DeSantis was denounced for betraying conservative principles, and indulging in paranoia and fueling conspiracy theories. National Review’s editorial says that DeSantis has taken “the cause of individual choice — and sullied it with an unlovely combination of hypocrisy and two-bit protectionism.”