Mississippi has become the third state in the United States to enact a law prohibiting the manufacturing, sale, or distribution of cultivated meat. Governor Tate Reeves declined to sign House Bill 1006, which effectively bans lab-grown meat in the state, but because he did not veto it, the bill will still become law.
The bill, passed unanimously by both the Mississippi House of Representatives and Senate, will become law on July 1, 2025. It establishes penalties for violations, including a fine of up to $500 and possible jail time of up to three months.
Legislative background
The legislation was introduced by Republican Representatives Bill Pigott and Lester Carpenter in January 2025 and is the first anti-cultivated meat bill to pass during the current legislative session. Mississippi follows Florida and Alabama, which both enacted similar bans in 2024. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1084 into law in May 2024, and Alabama quickly followed suit.
Under Mississippi’s new law, the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, along with the State Department of Health, will be tasked with establishing any necessary regulations to enforce the ban.
Suzi Gerber, executive director of the Association for Meat, Poultry, and Seafood Innovation, a trade group representing the cultivated meat sector, characterized the legislative action as “political theater” that would have little practical effect.
Rising state-level regulations
Gerber pointed out to Wired that cultivated meat is not yet available for sale in any of the states that have enacted similar laws. She noted that efforts in other states, such as Wyoming and South Dakota, to ban cultivated meat had failed earlier this year. In Wyoming, senators voted down a bill in February, and in South Dakota, a similar proposal has not yet passed a Senate vote.
The Mississippi law adds to the growing list of states considering regulations on lab-grown meat. Other states, including Iowa, South Carolina, South Dakota have introduced mandatory labeling for cultivated meat products. And Nebraska and South Dakota are pushing for outright bans, which are expected to be voted on later this year.
