Texas Joins Growing List of States Enacting Cultivated Meat Bans
On June 23, 2025, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas signed Senate Bill 261 into law, effectively prohibiting the sale, manufacture, and distribution of cell-cultured protein products for human consumption within the state. The bill, which will take effect on September 1, 2025, also makes it a Class A misdemeanor offense to offer or sell such products, with penalties escalating to a state jail felony for repeat offenders. The law defines “cell-cultured protein” as any food product made by harvesting animal cells and replicating them in a laboratory growth medium to create consumable tissue. This action makes Texas the seventh US state to enact a ban on lab-grown meat, following similar moves in Indiana, Nebraska, Montana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The legislation’s primary intent is to …