Italy on Thursday banned the production and sale of cultivated meat, citing health concerns and a need to safeguard its livestock industry, even if its sale is not yet allowed in the European Union.
With the law, Italy became the first EU country to ban so-called cultivated meat, which is grown from animal tissue cells in a lab.
The law, approved by the lower house of parliament after earlier receiving the Senate’s green light, also forbids labels from describing plant-based proteins as meat, with fines ranging from 10,000 to 60,000 euros ($10,900-$65,000) per violation.
Companies worldwide are trying to commercialise plant-based meat alternatives, due to ethical issues surrounding industrial livestock farming as well as environmental concerns.
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