LINCOLN, NEB. – Nebraska is the latest state to step into the debate over cultivated meat.

A recent executive order by Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen on Aug. 30 put strict guidelines on what state agencies and contractors can do to obtain the lab-grown product.

The governor said he directed the Nebraska Department of Agriculture to initiate a rulemaking process to make sure that any lab-grown meat products sold in stores would be “properly labeled and are not marketed next to natural meat on the same shelves.”

“Nebraska farmers and ranchers, like those here today, are committed to producing the best food products anywhere,” Pillen said. “We feed the world, and we save the planet more effectively and more efficiently than anybody else and I will defend those practices with my last breath.”

Sherry Vinton, director of the NDA, stated that a public hearing would be scheduled for Oct. 8 on draft regulations.

“Nebraska consumers want to know and deserve to know that what they are purchasing is safe, wholesome meat and not a lab grown product,” Vinton said.

Pillen signed the order with a group of producers from Oak Barn Beef in West Point, Neb.

Hannah Klitz owns the cattle business with her husband Eric and stressed the important role consumer education plays to inform them about where their food comes from.

“We are 5th generation cattle producers and business owners with customers across Nebraska and in 49 other states, so transparency is something we value,” Hannah Klitz said. “Shoppers want to know that they are getting the best, naturally raised product available. That transparency is essential to maintaining our reputation in the marketplace and meeting consumer expectations.”

Jeanne Reigle, another cattle producer in Nebraska, explained the high standards producers follow to ensure the best treatment of livestock used to produce food products.

“Nebraska ranchers engage in best practices when it comes to raising their animals,” Reigle said. “Our focus is on providing top quality products that are favored by consumers here and around the world. We need to support our state’s top economic driver – agriculture. The uncertainties surrounding lab-grown meat need to be examined more closely and now is the time to put some guardrails in place, so people know what they are buying and consuming.” 

Along with the executive order and the drafting of rules and regulations through the NDA, Governor Pillen also announced that during the upcoming legislative session senators would work with him to draft legislation banning lab-grown meat in Nebraska.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill back in May in Florida to ban the sale of cultivated meat. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed a similar law on May 7. Iowa also signed a law during May restricting cultivated meat products in state agencies.

In June 2024, Republican lawmakers co-sponsored the REAL Meat Act of 2024 which would ban the use of federal funds in various areas related to cultured meat.

In the last few weeks of Aug. 2024, Upside Foods, a cultivated meat company, and the Institute for Justice (IJ) filed a lawsuit challenging a recent Florida law prohibiting the sale of cultivated meat.