Federal lawsuit against Florida ban on "lab-grown" meat still alive after judge's ruling
Northern District of Florida Chief Judge Mark Walker declined to dismiss a part of the lawsuit that argued Florida's restrictions give an unconstitutional advantage to Florida farmers over out-of-state competitors. Meanwhile, the judge sided with state attorneys seeking to dismiss the lawsuit and their argument that federal approval of cultivated chicken doesn't mean individual states can't ban it.
U.S. regulators first signed off on the sale of what's known as "cell-cultured" or "cell-cultivated" meat in June 2023. The lawsuit had argued that Florida's law is preempted under federal laws that regulate the interstate market for meat and poultry products. Sellers say the product is a more ethical and sustainable alternative to conventionally raised chicken, beef and pork.
But lawmakers in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi have called cultivated meat a threat to their states' agriculture industries and banned the sale of the product, which is made of animal cells that are fed a mix of proteins, vitamins and water and then formed into nuggets, sausages and steaks.
The lawsuit was filed last year by Upside Foods, represented by the nonprofit law firm the Institute for Justice.
"Upside is not looking to replace conventional meat, which will always have a place at the table," Upside CEO Uma Valeti said in a statement. "All we are asking for is the right to compete, so that Floridians can try our product and see that it is possible to have delicious meat without the need for slaughtering animals. Today's ruling is an important step toward securing that right."
The governor's office and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment about the lawsuit.
Gov. Ron DeSantis was flanked by cattle farmers last May when he signed the state's cultivated meat ban into law.
"We stand with agriculture, we stand with the cattle ranchers, we stand with our farmers because we understand it's important for the backbone of the state," DeSantis said. "Take your fake lab-grown meat elsewhere."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
9 hours ago
- The Hill
What's really behind state bans on lab-grown meat?
In 2023, West Coast companies Upside Foods and Good Meat were cleared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to begin selling their lab-grown meat nationwide. This approval was a groundbreaking moment in history for scientific advancement and the future of animal welfare. Lab-grown meat is produced by collecting cell tissue from a living animal and then bathing the cells in nutrients to grow them into muscle tissue. No animals are slaughtered in this process. Each year, a low-end estimate of 1.2 trillion land animals and fish are slaughtered for consumption. Lab-grown meat holds the potential to save a large number of animals per year with its slaughter-free process. However, lab-grown meat is not yet available in retail. As it stands, lab-grown meat has not achieved a viable production rate to be sold in stores nationwide. Further innovation is still necessary to increase production speeds and reduce manufacturing costs for the product to succeed. Despite this, state policymakers are taking swift action to pass legislation that bans its production and sale before it is made available on store shelves. To complicate matters for lab-grown meat producers, policymakers enforcing the bans are backed by powerful meat industry lobbyists, including Tyson Foods and JBS USA. The development and sale of lab-grown meat are now banned in 7 states: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, Indiana, Texas, and Nebraska. Several more states are also considering bans, and many states will likely continue to join the anti-lab-grown meat coalition before the end of the year. Policymakers pushing for bans have argued that, without proper labelling, the product is deceptive to consumers. Yet, several states have already passed legislation for transparent labelling of mock meats in stores. Additionally, the USDA proposed the FAIR Labels Act of 2024, which, if passed, would federally require mock meat companies to clearly label their products as 'imitation' or 'lab-grown.' And are the policymakers enforcing bans truly concerned for consumers? Nebraska's recent lab-grown meat ban, approved by Governor Jim Pillen (R), raises many questions. Pillen founded Pillen Family Farms, which is currently the largest pork producer in Nebraska. He also helped found Wholestone Farms, the second-largest pork producer in the country. During his 2022 election campaign, he also received $50,000 from Smithfield Foods, the nation's largest pork producer, in addition to donations from several other meat industry giants. Pillen has an extensive history in livestock production. And lab-grown meat bans cut their competitors out of the market. They sabotage the potential success of lab-grown meat before it has the opportunity to reach a commercial breakthrough. Dan Morgan, a Nebraskan cattle rancher, recognized this authoritarian theme when the state-wide ban was being proposed and spoke out against it before the governor signed it into law. Morgan wants the economic freedom to compete with lab-grown products. If cattle ranchers want to prove that traditional farming is superior, they should not have to hide behind federal protections to do so. The recent bans take away the people's freedoms to choose innovative, slaughter-free meat products. Another drawback is inflation. When government regulation is used to decrease competition in the food industry, it drives price inflation, leading to higher rates of food insecurity among low-income Americans. Lab-grown meat bans were never about protecting the people; rather, they represent an authoritarian overreach to control what is on people's plates and decrease consumer choice. This will become another example of protectionism harming the economy, the people it is meant to serve and the animals who suffer. Isaac DeBlasio is a Junior Fellow at the Wilberforce Institute.
.JPG&w=3840&q=100)
Miami Herald
11 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Loan program for first-time buyers in Florida opens, but not all news is good
The Hometown Heroes program for first-time buyers in Florida returns on Aug. 18 — just in time for a market stabilization that gives buyers more inventory and more room to negotiate. But that's where the good news ends because in 2025, the Hometown Heroes Program only has $50 million to distribute to homebuyers. In previous years, up to $150 million was available to alleviate the housing affordability crisis faced by Floridians. So hurry if you plan to apply because the money will quickly run out, real estate professionals say. The program offers up to $35,000 for the down payment and closing costs for Florida's frontline or essential workers purchasing their first property to live in. It works as a second interest-free loan that is repaid when the house is sold or the mortgage is refinanced. Now in its fourth year, the Hometown Heroes program once again limits access to funds exclusively for specific industries in Florida, as it did initially when it was created after the pandemic to retain employees in the state who couldn't afford homes due to high housing prices. In 2025, health professionals, teachers and school staff, police officers, first responders, firefighters, prison guards, court employees, childcare workers, active military personnel, veterans, members of the Coast Guard and Florida National Guard, and reservist personnel from these organizations can all apply to Hometown Heroes. For a complete list of the professions, you can check the website of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Here are the fundamental requirements to benefit from the program: • The loan applicant must work at least 35 hours a week in a business located in Florida. • They must be first-time buyers, which means they have not purchased a home in the last three years. • They must have a minimum credit score of 640. • They cannot exceed the income limit set by the program, which in the case of Miami-Dade is $185,850 and in Broward, $172,950. • The program can be used with conventional loans, FHA loans, and USDA loans, which are available for rural areas. The program has provided an average of $16,198 for down payments and closing costs on properties with an average price of $321,087, and the average buyer's age is 38, according to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation's website. For information about the Hometown Heroes program:
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
How Much Upside is Left in The Pennant Group (PNTG)? Wall Street Analysts Think 31.17%
The Pennant Group, Inc. (PNTG) closed the last trading session at $24.7, gaining 3.3% over the past four weeks, but there could be plenty of upside left in the stock if short-term price targets set by Wall Street analysts are any guide. The mean price target of $32.4 indicates a 31.2% upside potential. The mean estimate comprises five short-term price targets with a standard deviation of $3.85. While the lowest estimate of $28.00 indicates a 13.4% increase from the current price level, the most optimistic analyst expects the stock to surge 49.8% to reach $37.00. It's very important to note the standard deviation here, as it helps understand the variability of the estimates. The smaller the standard deviation, the greater the agreement among analysts. While the consensus price target is a much-coveted metric for investors, solely banking on this metric to make an investment decision may not be wise at all. That's because the ability and unbiasedness of analysts in setting price targets have long been questionable. But, for PNTG, an impressive average price target is not the only indicator of a potential upside. Strong agreement among analysts about the company's ability to report better earnings than they predicted earlier strengthens this view. While a positive trend in earnings estimate revisions doesn't gauge how much a stock could gain, it has proven to be powerful in predicting an upside. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Here's What You Should Know About Analysts' Price Targets According to researchers at several universities across the globe, a price target is one of many pieces of information about a stock that misleads investors far more often than it guides. In fact, empirical research shows that price targets set by several analysts, irrespective of the extent of agreement, rarely indicate where the price of a stock could actually be heading. While Wall Street analysts have deep knowledge of a company's fundamentals and the sensitivity of its business to economic and industry issues, many of them tend to set overly optimistic price targets. Are you wondering why? They usually do that to drum up interest in shares of companies that their firms either have existing business relationships with or are looking to be associated with. In other words, business incentives of firms covering a stock often result in inflated price targets set by analysts. However, a tight clustering of price targets, which is represented by a low standard deviation, indicates that analysts have a high degree of agreement about the direction and magnitude of a stock's price movement. While that doesn't necessarily mean the stock will hit the average price target, it could be a good starting point for further research aimed at identifying the potential fundamental driving forces. That said, while investors should not entirely ignore price targets, making an investment decision solely based on them could lead to disappointing ROI. So, price targets should always be treated with a high degree of skepticism. Here's Why There Could be Plenty of Upside Left in PNTG There has been increasing optimism among analysts lately about the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by strong agreement among them in revising EPS estimates higher. And that could be a legitimate reason to expect an upside in the stock. After all, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements. For the current year, two estimates have moved higher over the last 30 days compared to no negative revision. As a result, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased 3.3%. Moreover, PNTG currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), which means it is in the top 20% of more than 4,000 stocks that we rank based on four factors related to earnings estimates. Given an impressive externally-audited track record, this is a more conclusive indication of the stock's potential upside in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> . Therefore, while the consensus price target may not be a reliable indicator of how much PNTG could gain, the direction of price movement it implies does appear to be a good guide. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Pennant Group, Inc. (PNTG) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
