453: Italy's cultivated meat ban - permanent or just ciao for now?

<div>In March 2023, Italy's minister of agriculture, <a href="https://foodmatterslive.com/article/cultured-meat-is-a-veritable-suicide-for-a-country-like-ours-says-italy-minister-of-agriculture-francesco-lollobrigida/">Francesco Lollobrigida</a>, announced that the country will be the first to ban lab-grown foods, including the production and commercialisation of cultivated meat.<br> <br> <a href="https://foodmatterslive.com/article/italy-proposes-ban-production-cultivated-meat-synthetic-foods/">The draft bill</a> has been put forward in the name of farmers, to protect them from the perceived threats that what they call “synthetic” foods pose to traditional cuisine.<br> <br> Those behind the bill also say it will protect human health and the national agri-food industry.<br> <br> The head of the Italian dairy industry group Assolatte praised the government’s efforts in blocking so-called "unnatural" products that he claims are promoted "under the pretext of protecting the environment".<br> <br> But some feel the proposal completely misses the mark, such as Alice Ravenscroft the European Policy Head for the Good Food Institute. She notes that 54% of Italians want to give cultivated meat a try.<br> <br> She also claims that “the passing of such a law would shut down the economic potential of this nascent field in Italy, holding back scientific progress and climate mitigation efforts”.<br> <br> So, are lab grown meats a real threat to traditional Italian cuisine? How could Italy’s banning of them affect the food industry? And is the ban ever likely to actually come to fruition?<br> <br> <strong>Guests:<br> Sharon Cittone, Founder and CEO, Edible Planet Adventures<br> Robert Jones, Chair, Cellular Agriculture Europe &amp; VP Public Affairs, Mosa Meat</strong> </div>