Italy’s right-wing government has backed a law that will ban lab-grown meat and other artificially created foods to protect Italy’s food heritage, writes the BBC.
Italian minister for agriculture and food sovereignty Francesco Lollobrigida emphasized the great importance of Italian culinary culture. Supporters of farmers are also happy about the law.
For some animal rights groups, however, this is a blow. They see several advantages of lab-grown meat.
The Italian farmers’ organization Coldiretti and other agricultural lobbies have collected more than half a million signatures in recent months calling for the protection of natural food. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also signed the call.
The bill comes just after the government issued orders banning the use of insect flour in pizza and pasta. Ministers cite the Mediterranean diet, which is known throughout the world as healthy and natural, as the basis for their decisions. Lollobrigida, who is a member of the prime minister’s party, said: «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.»
The proposals approved by the ministers envisage a
ban on artificial food created from animal cells without killing them, and will also apply to laboratory-produced fish meat and synthetic milk.
The US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of chicken grown in the laboratory for human consumption after a «thorough study» last November. In Singapore, the use of «artificial chicken» for the preparation of chicken nuggets was already allowed in 2020. So far, the European Union has not approved the use of «laboratory meat».
The International Organization for the Protection of Animals has emphasized that lab-grown meat, although made from animal cells, is an ethical alternative that does not harm nature, animal welfare, or food safety.
Paolo Zanetti, head of the dairy association Assolatte, praised the government’s decision. He told Il Sole 24 Ore that dairy farmers are facing a paradox. On the one hand, investment is required to make the product more environmentally friendly, while on the other hand, shameless investors promote a product that is anything but natural, under the guise of environmental protection slogans.
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