“This ban is a massive win for Texas ranchers, producers, and consumers,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in a statement following the bill’s passage. “Texans have a God-given right to know what’s on their plate, and for millions of Texans, it better come from a pasture, not a lab. It’s plain cowboy logic that we must safeguard our real, authentic meat industry from synthetic alternatives.”
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Texas joins Indiana, Mississippi, Montana and Nebraska in enacting new laws this year; Alabama and Florida did so last year. In March, the Oklahoma House approved a similar bill that did not advance out of the Senate this session.
I’m a big fan of impossible meats, and as a normal meat eater I would still happily eat impossible if it was available. My wife doesn’t eat meat so we’ve replaced all ground beef recipes with impossible, it makes great chili, meatballs, burgers, etc.
But I’ve been wondering about it because it seems to be an ultra processed food, especially compared to real meat. What are the implications of this? On the whole is it really any better than beef or chicken? Especially locally sourced, high quality meat, not from a mega farm. How much water is used in making lab grown meat? What other chemicals are used? What’s the cost of shipping all those ingredients and finished product across the country? How much power is used in production and manufacturing? What is the difference in health impact of lab grown vs real? How does this all compare to a local beef producer?
I’m not ready to quit impossible, and I’d hate to, but I wonder if it’s really the best decision.
I wonder about all this, too.