Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis may have just crossed over to a powerful new electorate.
The former presidential candidate this week signed legislation banning the sale of lab-grown meat in Florida, saying the Sunshine State wants to thwart the World Economic Forum’s goal of “forcing the world to eat lab-grown meat and insects.” Insects could be a way to help the global population feed itself more sustainably, and artificial intelligence could help insects reproduce, the World Economic Forum said in 2021, fueling online conspiracy theories.
The move is unusual given that lab-grown meat cannot be sold in the United States.th According to the Florida Beef Council, the U.S.’s 15,000 beef producers have a combined herd size of 886,000 head and total sales of $546 million. However, the move could be a shot in the arm as Florida has become a haven for billionaires who often fund and launch food innovations aimed at remedying the effects of climate change. One of them is new snowbird Jeff Bezos. Lauren Sánchez, vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund and Bezos’ fiancée, announced in March an initial investment of $60 million in sustainable proteins, including plant-based, fermented and cultured meats kind. The investment is part of a $1 billion commitment to expand food production. “We need to provide healthy, sustainable food for 10 billion people this century while protecting our planet. We can do it, but it will require a lot of innovation,” Sanchez said in a statement.
Lab-grown or cultured meat is different from the Impossible burger and other similar products. It is made by harvesting meat from animals and scientifically replicating the cell structure, eliminating the need to raise animals. The nonprofit Good Food Institute reports that the cultured meat industry has grown to include more than 150 companies that have received $2.6 billion in investment, including Bezos.
The Amazon founder announced in November 2023 that he was leaving Seattle for Miami, a move that may have saved him more than $140 million due to the state’s tax laws. This month, he purchased his third mansion in the state, a $90 million estate known as the “billionaire’s bunker” on Indian Creek Island in South Florida. He joins Ken Griffin of Citadel Securities and tech giants Amazon, Apple and Microsoft all taking up more office space in Florida. Another billionaire, Miami Dolphins owner and real estate developer Stephen Ross, is deeply involved in making South Florida more like Manhattan. Ross hosted an event last month to raise funds for Vanderbilt University’s Florida campus in Nashville, which DeSantis also participated in.
This week, however, DeSantis claimed that Florida is “fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat or bugs grown in petri dishes to achieve their authoritarian goals.”
Why are viruses so prevalent when lab-grown meat isn’t for sale?
News of the ban spread like wildfire User X posted a photo of DeSantis Last year, a campaign tour toured a meat plant in southern Iowa. The facility is owned and operated by farmer, rancher and reality TV star Steven McBee. McBee Dynasty. McBee’s costar Kara Jackson stood behind the photo, which attracted widespread attention online. “This is the worst photo of me,” Jackson told wealth, clarified that she was sick that day and wasn’t bored or disgusted. “I guess I was just waiting for Steven to finish so I could go home.”
After being alerted about the photo, she reposted it and it racked up around 40 million views on her social media platforms. McBee suggested the photo appeared with the news because it was “the only photo of DeSantis and meat of any kind.” In the photo, DeSantis appears in front of a table with raw beef from the ranch. The company also sells shelf-stable air-dried beef to “fitness freaks” like McBee and Jackson, he said. DeSantis toured the facility after his team contacted the farm to ask if he could stop by and tour the small business.
Ironically, McBee supports the innovation of lab-grown meat, adding that while he is a farmer and rancher, he is also focused on regenerative agriculture.
“Obviously, I’m in the agriculture industry and I love small farms and ranches,” he told wealth. “But if lab-grown meat gets away from factory farms, where animals are born and raised under roofs and never see sunlight, never see grass — in my opinion, that’s Not a bad thing.
