Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation on Wednesday banning the manufacture and sale of lab-grown meat in Florida.

WAUCHULA, Fla. – SB 1084 prohibits and creates penalties for the manufacturing, sale or distribution of cultivated meat in the state.
It also preempt the regulation of electric vehicle charging stations to the state and prohibits local governments from implementing their own policies.
Additionally, the legislation provides regulations for the destruction, harvesting and sale of saw palmetto berries.
The new law also bolsters state provisions on charging suspects with trespassing on commercial agricultural land, one provision touted by Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson on Wednesday.
DeSantis explained during a press conference how organizations like the World Economic Forum are pushing their ideological positions against the agriculture industry.
“These will be people who lecture us about things like global warming, they will say that you can’t drive an internal combustion engine vehicle, they’ll say that agriculture’s bad, meanwhile, they’re flying to Davos in their private jets,” he said.
“So this is really a vision of imposing restrictions on freedoms for everyday people, while these elites are effectively pulling the stings, calling the shots and doing whatever the hell they want to do in their own lives,” he added.
The governor said that policies pushed by the World Economic Forum are “dead on arrival” in the state of Florida.
He added that the organization’s emphasis on promoting cultivated meat is not because of market competition.
“Because they know if that was put out their to compete with normal beef, that they would lose,” he said.
“So I recognize some of these threats that we’re seeing from some of these elites throughout the world, in places like Davos,” he added. “I understand that they put a target on the back of agriculture,” DeSantis added. “We stand with agriculture, with with ranchers, we stand with our farmers, because we understand it’s important for the backbone of the state, it’s important for our culture, it’s important for our heritage.”
Simpson spoke in favor of the legislation and thanked the governor for signing it.
“Who wants to have biomass shipped to their house, put in a tank, grown in a lab and then put it through a 3D printer to make it look like a steak that you want to eat?” he jokingly asked. “Well, we’re not gonna do that in Florida.”
Dale Carlton, the president-elect of the Florida Cattleman Association, spoke on how the legislation would specifically help the state’s cattlemen and ranchers.
“We thank you for passing strong legislation that protects this industry and the citizens of our great state,” he said.
The current president of the association said that the bill “cemented” the governor’s commitment to standing with Florida’s cattle industry.
Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, the main sponsor of the legislation, spoke on how important the bill was, coming from a farming family background.
He explained how his family lost their farm due to Democratic policies in the state.
“Here’s what I don’t want to have happen. I can’t stand idly by and watch that happen to other people in our great state of Florida,” he said.
“It’s amazing to have leadership in Governor DeSantis, Commissioner Simpson and so many others fighting tooth and nail for our agriculture,” he said.
Along with Collins, the bill was sponsored by Rep. Danny Alvarez, R-Riverview.
It’s set to go into effect on July 1.

https://flvoicenews.com/desantis-signs-bill-banning-lab-grown-meat-bolstering-agriculture/