Overview

• Texas now prohibits the sale of cell-cultured meat in stores and restaurants, while allowing research and development to continue.
• Violations can trigger civil and criminal penalties, and the law expires in two years unless lawmakers extend it.
• The Institute for Justice filed a court challenge, with attorney Paul Sherman arguing the ban unlawfully limits consumer choice.
• Texas becomes at least the seventh state with such a prohibition, a step praised by ranching groups and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.
• Cultivated meat had a minimal footprint in Texas before the ban, with one Austin restaurant offering it, after limited USDA approvals in 2023 for companies such as Upside Foods and Good Meat.