The bill presented at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday would ban the sale, manufacture for export and import of food derived from cell cultures, the Rome government said. Violations are punished with fines between 10,000 and 60,000 euros and seizure of assets. Synthetic foods are said to have great potential to create products that look and taste like meat without the need to kill animals.
Ettore Prandini, president of the Coldiretti Farmers’ Union, supported Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government bill. “After meat, the experiments also extended to fish and milk, putting at risk the naturalness of the foods that make up most of our diet”, said Prandini. His association recently launched a petition to ban synthetic foods, which quickly garnered over half a million signatures.
Farmers Union: Bad for the environment and health
“The lies about test-tube food confirm the precise strategy of multinationals that, with intelligent marketing actions, seek to change natural food based on quality and tradition”, said Pandini.
“The truth is, it’s not meat, it’s a synthetic engineering product that doesn’t care for the environment because it uses more water than traditional cattle ranches. This is not good for your health because there is no guarantee that the chemicals used are safe to consume in food. Also, because it is in the hands of multinationals, it is not accessible to everyone.”
IMAGO/Independent Photo Agency Int./Antonio Moniaci /Ipa-Agency.net Francesco Lollobrigida, Minister of Food Sovereignty of Italy, presented the draft
“A new day, a new enemy, a new crime”
Criticism of the bill came from Giordano Masini of the liberal Piu Europa party. “A new day, a new enemy, a new crime,” said Masini. Rather than championing a potential new development opportunity that could bring new businesses and more jobs, the government is rushing to ban it, citing health risks that have never been proven.
“The result is that, in the end, food obtained through cell culture will become a reality anyway, since it is the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) that assesses the health risks of food, not the Italian government. Producers in other countries, who can research and develop in the meantime, benefit from this”, complained Masini.
3d printer steaks
Impact Food has just opened in Rome, a place that calls itself “the capital’s first sustainable steakhouse”. Between fake chicken nuggets and burgers made from 3D-printed vegetables or meat, the restaurant in the chic Parioli neighborhood attracts customers who are not afraid of laboratory meat and its high prices. Because a fast-food menu with sandwiches in the middle price segment costs about 15 euros, which is significantly higher than the Italian average.
Impact Food is currently the only importer of laboratory meat in Italy. 3D printed meat is difficult to distinguish from traditional meats. A cutting-edge 3D printing process can produce animal-free meat. However, the taste and consistency match the model. The 3D printing process can also be used to produce premium meat such as steaks.