Italy’s right-wing government has supported a bill that would outlaw the production and sale of laboratory-created meat and other synthetic foods, citing the importance of Italian food heritage and health protection.
If approved, the ban would carry fines of up to €60,000 (£53,000) for offenders.
Francesco Lollobrigida, who runs the agriculture and food sovereignty ministry, emphasized the importance of Italy’s food tradition, saying, “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 farmers’ lobby applauded the move, with Coldiretti and other agriculture groups collecting half a million signatures in recent months to support the protection of “natural food vs. synthetic food.”
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who signed the petition, spoke at a “flash mob” organized by Coldiretti outside her office in Rome, saying, “We could only celebrate with our farmers a measure that puts our farmers in the vanguard, not just on the issue of defending excellence… but also in defending consumers.”
However, the ban was a blow to some animal welfare groups that have touted lab-made meat as a solution to issues such as protecting the environment from carbon emissions and ensuring food safety.
The International Organization for Animal Protection (Oipa) maintained that lab-created meat was an “ethical alternative” that did not harm animal welfare, environmental sustainability, or food safety.
Despite Italy’s proposed legislation, no synthetic meat has received regulatory approval within the European Union. Nonetheless, the European Food Safety Authority has acknowledged that cultured meat “could be considered a promising and innovative solution… for healthy and environmentally friendly food systems.”
Critics of the ban argued that Italy would be unable to oppose the sale of synthetic meat produced within the EU when it ultimately gains approval because of the free movement of goods and services.
Last November, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the consumption of cell-cultured chicken, while in 2020, Singapore granted regulatory approval for lab-grown chicken meat to be used in nuggets.
Paolo Zanetti, the head of dairy industry group Assolatte, praised the government’s decision, noting that dairy producers were being asked to invest in making their products more environmentally friendly, while “investors with no scruples” were promoting a product that was anything but natural under the pretext of protecting the environment.
The ban would prohibit the production of synthetic foods created from animal cells without killing the animal, including lab-produced fish and synthetic milk.
Ministers approved the proposals, following a series of decrees banning the use of flour made from insects such as crickets and locusts in pizza or pasta, citing Italy’s prized Mediterranean diet as the driving force behind both measures.
Tags: Italy
