The Blubber

Italy’s government introduced a draft law that, if approved, will ban the production and sale of cultivated food, per Bloomberg.

Per Bloomberg: Cultivated, or cell-based, meat is created by harvesting cells from live animals and providing them with nutrients so they’ll grow in bioreactors and then taking additional steps to turn the cells into a consumer-ready meat product.

“We are proud to be the first nation in the world to stop this decadence,” said Augusta Montaruli.

So far, only Singapore has permitted sales of cultivated chicken, while two companies have just cleared a first regulatory hurdle in the US.

In November, the US Food and Drug Administration has given a safety clearance to lab-grown meat for the first time.

Upside Foods, a California-based company that makes meat from cultured chicken cells, will be able to begin selling its products once its facilities have been inspected by the US Department of Agriculture.

The agency said it had evaluated the information submitted by Upside Foods and it had "no further questions at this time about the firm's safety conclusion."

"Advancements in cell culture technology are enabling food developers to use animal cells obtained from livestock, poultry, and seafood in the production of food, with these products expected to be ready for the U.S. market in the near future," Dr. Robert M. Califf, the FDA's commissioner of food and drugs and Susan T. Mayne, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), said in a statement.