COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Texas has banned the sale of lab-grown meat, drawing praise from traditional barbecue establishments but raising constitutional concerns from legal experts who argue the law unfairly protects the cattle industry from competition.
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Senate Bill 261 prohibits the sale of cell-cultured protein — commonly known as lab-grown meat — for human consumption in Texas. The law will remain in effect for at least the next two years.
Chad Wootan, owner of Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que in College Station, supports the ban. Cooper's has operated since 1962 and opened its College Station location in 2019.
"Natural beef, pork, chicken, all that works for us. I mean, it's worked for a long time for Cooper's Bar-B-Que," Wootan said.
Wootan expressed trust in local cattle producers and believes ranchers deserve protection from new competition.
"I just trust, you know, our local beef growers, Texas beef growers, American beef growers," he said. "I feel like the local ranchers need all the protection they can get. It's a tough way to make a living, and we appreciate their hard work."
However, Paul Sherman, a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice, argues the law is unconstitutional.
"Its sole purpose is to keep an innovative new product out of the state so it won't compete with Texas's conventional agriculture industry," Sherman said.
Sherman believes Texas cattle producers are concerned about future economic competition from lab-grown meat technology.
"Texas is obviously the largest cattle state in the country, and I think the cattlemen are worried that this technology is going to develop and it's going to pose economic competition to them in the future, but that's not a legitimate use of government power," Sherman said.
15 ABC asked Sherman if there were other reasons for this ban.
"They make innuendos. They make vague allusions to potential health risks, but the fact of the matter is they can't point to anything and the federal government has given the green light for these products to be sold in interstate commerce," Sherman said.
The ban means Texas consumers can no longer purchase lab-grown meat.
"There's a demand for these products because some consumers want to have the taste of meat that they enjoy without some of the ethical or environmental qualms they may have about large-scale agriculture," Sherman said.
Sherman noted that Texas' law prohibits only the sale of lab-grown meat, not its distribution. His law firm is currently challenging a similar ban in Florida and is closely monitoring the Texas situation.
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