Prioritizing Food Heritage: Italy Moves to Ban Lab-Grown Meat

Italy’s right-wing government is supporting a bill that aims to protect Italy’s food heritage. 

The bill would place a ban on laboratory-produced meat and other synthetic foods, with an effort to highlight the food heritage in Italy as well as bring to light many health concerns. Farmers around Italy praise the move, but animal welfare groups are taking a blow. 

"We could only celebrate with our farmers a measure that puts our farmers in the vanguard, not just on the issue of defending excellence... but also in defending consumers,” minister Coldiretti said outside of her office in Rome. 

Many ministers are motivated by Italy's prized Mediterranean diet to help push the ban on lab-grown meat. While the bill helps farmers throughout Italy, it also comes in addition to the ban of the use of flour derived from insects such as crickets and locusts in pizza or pasta.

In a statement from Francesco Lollobrigida, head of the rebranded ministry for agriculture and food sovereignty, “Laboratory products do not guarantee quality, well-being and the protection of the Italian food and wine culture and tradition, to which part of our tradition is linked.”

Other heads of industry like Paolo Zanetti, the head of the dairy industry group Assolatte, agree with this ban since labs can also create synthetic milk as well. 

According to the BBC, “International Organization for Animal Protection (Oipa) stressed that lab-produced meat, while it came from animal cells, was an "ethical alternative" that did not harm animal welfare, environmental sustainability or food safety.” 

Others have also stressed that Italy cannot ban the sale of synthetic meat produced within the European Union when it has its approval. 

Along with Coldiretti, Lollobridgida and Italian prime minister Giorgia Miloni support the bill and have signed the petition created by many of the agriculture lobbies  in the fight against "natural food vs synthetic food.”