Lab-grown meat makers sue Texas over ban on cultivated protein

Dive Brief:

• Cultivated meat makers Wildtype and Upside Foods have filed a lawsuit to challenge a recent Texas ban on lab-grown protein.
• The California-based companies argue the ban, which went into effect Sept. 1 and lasts for two years, unlawfully protects the Texas agriculture industry by closing the doors to competition from outside the state.
• Seven states have enacted bans on cultivated meat. Another five states have moved to regulate cultivated products through labeling requirements.

Dive Insight:

Lab-grown meat is meant to solve some of the taste and texture issues facing the beleaguered plant-based industry by relying on animal cells to create a product that better resembles conventional proteins. Mounting regulations, however, are creating a new set of problems for the burgeoning industry.

Upside and Wildtype are among a handful of companies that have received FDA approval to sell cultivated meat, though their products remain confined to the restaurant sector. Both companies say the ban prevents them from scaling operations in Texas and creates larger implications for the future of the industry at-large.

Cultivated chicken producer Upside had been in talks to bring the product to new restaurants and a Texas supermarket chain, the lawsuit said. Wildtype, which makes cultivated salmon, recently received regulatory approval in May and began offering its product in an Austin, Texas, sushi restaurant.

The companies are not only losing out on revenue but also missing “critical and irreplaceable opportunities to help grow the nascent market for cultivated meat,” the suit said. Violators of Texas’ ban could be subject to $25,000 in fines per day, and up to one year of jail time.

Upside has led the charge against growing restrictions on lab-grown meat. The startup also sued Florida after the state became the first to ban cultivated meat sales in 2024.

One of the biggest hurdles in scaling the cultivated meat sector is a lack of consumer awareness. Only a fourth of consumers are familiar with cultivated meat, even when it is explained, according to research from the Good Food Institute.

Expanding opportunities for consumers to try the product is essential for future growth of the sector. A study by Purdue University in 2024 found that 60% of consumers were willing to try cultivated beef, chicken or pig.