After much contention and meandering on the issue, Italy has officially and now finally banned the production and sale of lab-grown meat in the country.
The proposals were announced initially in March, which included a ban on insect proteins and powders included in their flours and pastas. However, last month it was reported that Italy had backtracked on these proposals and labeling requirements, which would have allowed Italy to sell these faux meats. The Good Food Institute Europe, which is very much in favor of these progressive concepts and exploits to fight climate change, gave the Italian Parliament great praise for their decision.
Notwithstanding Italy has decided to stand on their laurels and elected to ban cell-cultured meats regardless, which includes banning the substances’ use in animal feed, too.
Reuters reported: ‘Factories breaching such rules can be subject to fines of up to 150,000 euros ($162,700) and risk being shut down, while owners may lose their right to obtain public funding for up to three years.’ Barron’s also notes that the law ‘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.’
Italy’s minister for food sovereignty and agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, said in a statement that cultivated meat “interrupts the virtuous relationship between land, man and work that for millennia has accompanied us and allowed us to maintain the land.”
In a statement to Politico Lollobrigida said the measures were about “defending work, environment, culture and identity — which are rooted in food quality,” and that they were intended to “defend our civilization against a model driven by delocalization and long supply chains.”
If you produce a food that has no relationship to man, land, work, you can move production to a place with lower taxes and less environmental standards, hurting jobs and the environment.
He added
The GFI, which had once praised Italy for rescinding their proposals, is now chastising the Italian Parliament for this decision.
Francesca Gallelli, Public Affairs Consultant at the Good Food Institute Europe, said in a statement:
This bill not only deprives consumers of choice but also isolates Italy from the investment and job creation offered by this burgeoning industry. The debate surrounding cultivated meat in Italy has been fueled by misinformation, as hearings in the Senate intentionally excluded cultivated meat companies and supporters while allowing false claims from opponents of this sustainable food.
We welcome the intention of the government to submit the law to the EU scrutiny and we hope member states can voice their concerns regarding its potential violation of the single market.
Eliminating the possibility of using familiar terms to facilitate product recognition undermines transparency, generating confusion for consumers where none currently exists, as demonstrated by surveys.
The Italian Alliance for Complementary Proteins, which brings together industry companies, researchers and non-profit associations, also weighed-in:
This bill tells Italians what they can and cannot eat, stifles innovation, and likely violates EU law. It is truly disheartening that Italy will be excluded from a new job-creating industry and barred from selling more climate-friendly foods.
Once famous for pioneering world-changing innovations like radio, microchips, batteries, performance automobiles, and ground-breaking fashion – Italian politicians are now choosing to go backwards while the rest of the world moves forward.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
Though it’s been a tumultuous mess, it is good to see Italy is sticking to their guns, after it looked like they had backtracked. Barrons additionally noted:
The president of Coldiretti, Italy’s main agricultural lobby, later physically confronted two members of the More Europe party outside parliament who were protesting the bill, calling them “clowns”.
Coldiretti, which represents livestock farmers, has attacked what it calls “Frankenstein” meat and says the law represents “a commitment to defend the Mediterranean diet”.
The lobby had called on farmers to rally in front of parliament ahead of the vote to “stop a dangerous deviation that endangers healthy eating and the future of Made in Italy food”.
At the end of the day, at least it’s some good news.
As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
Proverbs 25:25
However, this is not a done-deal and attempts to get Italy to capitulate will persist, in continued efforts to get the masses to stop eating meat.
[1] Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; [2] Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; [3]Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. 1 Timothy 4:1-3
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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They woke up and saw the light, how crappy would Italian food taste with fungus fake meat…eeeeeyooo!!
I rejoice in agreement with Proverbs 25:25 concerning “good news from a far country,” as well as 1Timothy 4:3 expressing that in latter days we will be asked to abstain from meat. Reading that verse in first Timothy not so very long ago made me question how that could possibility happen. After all, some of the greatest joys of any holiday is the meat mains, such as turkey for Thanksgiving or hamburgers on the Fourth of July.
Well, here it is. We are being asked to abstain from meat aren’t we? A fake meat restaurant is slated to open in my neighborhood. David makes a good point wondering what would happen to the great culinary tradition of Italy when we alter time honor recipes. Cricket balls instead of meatballs, perish the thought! This is a battle and the Italians have made an opening move opposing the sustainability bug eating crowd. Take that Nicole Kidman.
Francesca Gallelli, Public Affairs Consultant at the Good Food Institute Europe is what I would call a “Genocidal Globalist,” who follows Precept Ten of the Georgia Guidestones, which is very seldom discussed, stating “Be not a Cancer upon the Earth; Leave Room for Nature.” Francesca Gallelli is of the opinion that 95% of the world’s population are “Useless Eaters” who need to be euthanized as quickly as possible. and is also very supportive of Klaus Schwab and the “Great Reset,” Francesca Gallelli is an ardent supporter of Freemasonry’s Duty and Obligation to rid the world of the “Plague of Humanity.” These faux meats., for those who are unaware, is the component of Messenger RNA spike proteins and prions, which is at war with the heart, lungs, brain and blood for oxygen. These faux meats is an oxygen sponge which deprives the body of necessary oxygen and causes many complications, including but not limited to anaphylactic shock, toxic blood clotting, fatal lung paralysis, mitochondrial cancer, and endothelial cancer.” Francesca Gallelli viewpoint is much the same as Klaus Schwab, Bill Gates: LET THEM ALL DIE!
I’m 25% Italian (my moms maternal grandparents were Italian immigrants), I say that lab grown meat and plant based diets are a threat to Italian culture.
You are so right Thomas. A cuisine perfected over centuries which has nourished people and been enjoyed by families both in Italy and around the world. They gotta be crazy!