Italian government bill aims to ban use of cultivated meat

The Italians love their food – and are determined to keep it real.

The government in Rome has approved a bill banning lab-grown food in a bid to protect the country’s natural grown heritage.

Agriculture minister Francesco Lollobrigida’s proposal, if passed by parliament, will outlaw the production of food or feed “from cell cultures or tissues derived from vertebrate animals”.

“Laboratory products in our opinion do not guarantee quality, well-being and the protection of our culture, our tradition,” the minister said.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy party has vowed to shield the Italian food industry from technological innovations deemed harmful.

The government recently issued a series of decrees banning the use of insects in food such as flour in pizza and pasta.

It is also pushing to introduce information labels to be put on products containing or made from insects.

The latest proposed bill on lab-grown meat includes fines of up €60,000 on offenders, their exclusion from public funding for up to three years and even the threat of closing down factories.

According to a recent survey, 84 per cent of Italians are against laboratory-grown food.

The move by the government in Rome does, however, go against the advice of the European Food Safety Authority, which sees the likes of cultured meat “as a promising and innovative solution for healthy and

environmentally friendly food sys-tems”.

Two European organisations in-volved in food system awareness, ProVeg International and Cellular Agriculture Europe, criticised the bill.

“Italy could be missing out on an opportunity to diversify its food supply and expand consumer choice,” they argued.

Cellular Agriculture Europe res-ponded: “To enter the European Union (EU) market, food products must be authorised by the European Commission, after a thorough safety assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).”

Once approved by the European Commission, cultivated products are safe, it said.

“Worldwide, this approval is con-

sidered to be a gold standard in food safety. Hence, the Italian proposal is unnecessary as Italian and European consumers can be sure that, once approved by the European Commission, cultivated products are safe.

“And as cultivated meat is being assessed by international risk assessment bodies in the EU, the US Food & Drug Administration and the Singapore Food Agency have given greenlights on the safety of cultivated product applications.”

Mathilde Alexandre, ProVeg Cell-

Ag project coordinator, said: “The bill introduced by the Italian government to ban cultivated meat

is a draconian measure that ignores the massive economic and

environmental potential that cult-ivated meat holds.

“Cultivated meat is an important new technology that can positively affect the food system in reducing carbon emissions, [and] pollution, and supports animal welfare and biodiversity, while being a real lever for economic growth.

“The IPCC report listed cellular agriculture as a way to limit pressures on finite natural re-sources.

“Compared to conventional meat,

cultivated meat shows many pro-mises in terms of sustainability.

“The latest life-cycle assessment shows that cultivated beef could result in a reduction of 92 per cent of carbon footprint if renewable energy is used in the production process, 95 per cent of land use and 78 per cent of water requirements, compared to conventional beef production.

“In 2022, the IPCC report listed cellular agriculture as a way to limit pressures on finite natural resources.

“Given the urgency of the situation, it is imperative that we explore all promising options to make our food system more sustainable and transition to a low-carbon economy and society.

“Finally, such a ban will reduce consumers’ ability to choose the food they want. Thanks to cultivated meat, dairy and seafood companies there will be new products on the market, allowing consumers who are concerned about animal welfare and the environmental impact of their food to choose the product they wish.”