How lab-grown meat became part of America’s culture wars

THERE IS A political parable that begins with two cows. Communists would give both to the government; capitalists would sell one and buy a bull. Were it to be set in America today, Republicans would worry that their cows could be rendered obsolete. On May 1st Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, banned the sale of lab-grown meat in his state, an attempt, he said, to “save our steaks”. Alabama has passed a similar law; Arizona and Tennessee are considering doing the same. Some 13 other red states prohibit firms from labelling their lab-grown meat with terms that traditionally refer to real animal products. Why are Republicans so worried about “fake” meat?

In June 2023 the US Food and Drug Administration granted permission for several companies to sell lab-grown meat, making America the second country, after Singapore, to allow the stuff. On a cellular level, cultivated meat is identical to its conventional counterpart. Animal cells are grown in a tank filled with nutrient-rich liquid, or on a scaffold made out of biomaterials such as synthetic polymers, to encourage structure. Most such products are, for now, prohibitively expensive. So far they have not appeared on a single supermarket shelf in America. Two restaurants in San Francisco and in Washington, DC, have served lab-grown meat, though it is currently off the menu at both eateries. If it becomes more popular, lab-grown meat might help reduce the environmental impact of livestock farming, which accounts for around 12% of greenhouse-gas emissions worldwide.

That argument holds little sway with Republicans. Whereas 80% of Democrats are worried about climate change, 80% of Republicans are not. Conservatives often resent green initiatives—particularly those that threaten their dinner plates. In 2019 progressive Democrats proposed a Green New Deal, which called for the reduction of methane emissions (the greenhouse gas largely produced by cows). That led Republicans to claim that the plan was an attempt to “take away your hamburgers”. Lab-grown meat has met a similar backlash. Mr DeSantis links the foodstuff to a right-wing conspiracy about global elites who supposedly “want to control our behaviour and push a diet of petri-dish meat”.

Republicans have economic reasons to oppose lab-grown meat. American beef production is a $100bn industry, which funnels around 75% of its political donations to their party. Beef lobbyists worry that farmers will be forced out of business. The United States Cattlemen’s Association, a trade group, claims that a shift to lab-grown meat would create “monopolistic control of America’s sovereign food supply” because the stuff is made by multinational corporations. Right-wing legislators echo their protectionist sentiments; Mr DeSantis was flanked by members of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association while signing his state’s ban.

But the backlash against lab-grown meat is not just about money. Florida’s commissioner of agriculture called cultivated meat “a disgraceful attempt to undermine our proud traditions”. Beef is a cultural symbol, evoking the life of tough ranchers on America’s frontier. “Real” Americans eat “real” meat, the myth implies—and they drink real milk and spread real butter, too. A number of Republicans are campaigning to legalise unpasteurised milk; others even want to ban margarine in schools. Some Republicans are fighting to preserve what one conservative writer called “the rugged spirit of the American farmer”.

In reality the system Republicans want to protect has already vanished—and not because of any newfangled grub. The party’s proposed farm bill, a vast agricultural-spending package that is updated by Congress every five years, provides billions in subsidies to industrial farms and encourages consolidation. Small farms are becoming rarer. Most of the country’s meat is pumped full of antibiotics. The prospect of lab-grown steaks replacing the farmed stuff may be distant, but it is red meat for Republican voters.■