PHOENIX — A panel of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ lawmakers voted Monday to make it illegal to call anything grown in a laboratory meat or poultry, saying they want to prevent consumer confusion.
The 6-3 vote by the House Committee on Land, Agriculture and Rural Affairs came over the objections of Drake Jamali, lobbyist for the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit that says it is focused “on making plant-based and cultivated meat delicious, affordable and accessible.’’
He said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration already requires anything produced in a lab to be labeled a “cell cultured’’ or “cell cultivated’’ product. That’s enough to inform shoppers that what they’re buying never came from a live animal, Jamali said.
But Rep. Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott Valley, said the FDA label is not adequate to inform consumers.
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His House Bill 2244 would make it illegal to use any term that is “the same or deceptively similar’’ to one historically linked to a specific meat or poultry product.
Jamali acknowledged the legislation could preclude items from being labeled “meat patties’’ or “nuggets,’’ even if they included the FDA language about being “cell cultured.’’
What Nguyen pushed through the committee on Monday is mild in comparison with a proposal by Rep. David Marshall. The Snowflake Republican wants to bar outright the sale or production of any “cell-cultured animal product for human or animal consumption.’’
But Marshall, whose HB 2121 also was set to be debated Monday, said he withdrew the measure from immediate consideration while he works on unspecified amendments. The legislation could be back on the agenda this coming week.
Both measures are aimed at the nascent industry growing up around alternatives to raising and slaughtering animals for food.
Much already is available for consumers in the form of plant-based burgers, ground meat, nuggets and other similar products, which causes alarm among cattle growers.
“What they find is these plant-based products, they’re not all what they appear to be,’’ said Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, who is a cattle rancher. He said people need iron they get “from a real steak, from a carcass.’’
Cook said the FDA has said those who consume plant-based meats received below the daily requirements for calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc and vitamin B-12.
Rep. Michael Carbone, R-Buckeye, was more direct. “We want to protect our cattle and our ranches,’’ he said.
The lawmakers’ bigger and growing concern is over what can be produced in a lab.
It starts with the question of “is it meat?’’
Shane Burgess, the dean of agriculture, life and environmental sciences at the University of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, said different organizations have different standards.
For some, he told lawmakers, anything that is the flesh of animals, birds and fish qualifies. That would include lab-grown items since they meet that definition.
But he said other groups such as the American Society for Testing and Materials say meat has to come from something living.
That leaves the FDA requirement to list such products as “cell cultured.’’
Tim Petersen, owner of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Grassraised Beef and a cattle rancher, said that’s hardly satisfactory. He said there’s still a lot of research being done.
“I don’t think the federal government has really clear parameters on what is lab-based or what is bovine calf serum,’’ Petersen said, referring to one of the products used to promote cell growth.
“There’s a lot of words and a lot of shucking and jiving that goes on in the meat business,’’ he told lawmakers, which he said leaves lots of room for creative wording. For example, Petersen said, the state Department of Agriculture allows meats to be listed as “ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ grown.
“And you can literally slaughter cattle in the state and use the ‘ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ grown’ logo,’’ he said.
But Berry Mendoza, testifying on behalf of Mission Barns, which produces products that contain real meat but without slaughtering an animal, warned lawmakers to be careful about exactly how much information they want to mandate for consumers.
Why not, he said, require pieces of meat at grocery stores to be labeled “ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ slaughtered baby calf’’? he asked. Mendoza said labeling requirements can be used to deter consumers.
Cook said that proves his point. “When people go to the meat counter, that’s what they expect to find in the meat counter is meat from carcasses,’’ he said.
“I like meat and I am supportive of the industry,’’ said Rep. Mariana Sandoval, D-Goodyear. “And we should definitely keep an eye on this technology.’’
But she voted against the measure. “I am not convinced that there is any mislabeling happening,’’ Sandoval said.
Rep. Lupe Diaz, R-Benson, disagreed, finding the FDA requirements insufficient. He said the term “cultivated’’ makes it sound like “something that was grown from the earth.â€
The measure now needs approval of the full House.
Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Threads at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com.