With lab-grown meat production on the rise in NC, legislators call for better food labeling

North Carolina legislators on both sides of the political aisle revealed an appetite for better food labeling on Wednesday, approving legislation that would make consumers more aware of what they purchase at the grocery store. 

The Republican-led bill (House Bill 134) would prohibit the misbranding of meat and poultry products by requiring clear labels on lab-grown meat. Specifically, if a company sells cell-cultured food products that use meat or poultry marketing terms to describe it, the packaging must clearly indicate its lab-grown origins with terms such as “cell-cultured,” “fake,” “grown in a lab,” or “lab-grown.”

Furthermore, the clarifying term must be in close proximity to the name of the product and in at least 20 point font or the size of the surrounding type, whichever is greater.

“There was talk in a lot of different circles about going the banning route. Some of us thought that that would be too extreme,” said Rep. Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin. “What we want is the consumer informed, and to the best of our ability, that’s what this bill does. It says properly label it, and if Mr. or Mrs. consumer decides to purchase it, that’s their right.”

Florida and Alabama passed legislation in 2024 manufacturing, selling, holding or offering for sale, or distribution of any cultivated food product, while Iowa enacted labeling requirements.

With major food corporations like Tyson investing in cell-cultured food technology, the lab-grown meat industry is expected to grow to new heights in the years ahead. 

Dr. Blake Brown, Hugh C. Kiger Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics at NC State, told House Agriculture and Environment Committee members on Wednesday that there are a lot of companies investing in lab-grown meat like chicken because it’s easy to replicate the homogenous muscle.

“I don’t know where this is going. It may not be a problem in my lifetime, but I can tell you, there’s a lot of different companies investing in this, and it’s not just consumer companies,” said Brown. “It’s basically the suppliers of poultry. Tyson, for example, is an investor in Believer Meats and so when they start investing in it, I get a little concerned because this is a new technology.”

Believer Meats is opening a brand-new 200,000-square-foot facility just east of Raleigh in Wilson, North Carolina, to create cultured or lab-grown meat, the largest cultivated meat production center in the world with the capacity to produce at least 10,000 metric tons of cultivated meat. The company’s CEO met with North Carolina’s US Sens. Ted Budd and Thom Tillis in 2023 ahead of its first US commercial production facility opening. The Israel-based company is hiring for multiple positions in North Carolina as they near completion of the new plant and prepare for commercialization.

The world’s largest meat producer, JBS, recently opened a research center for cultured or lab-grown meat. Based in Brazil, JBS has a US division, JBS USA, that owns Pilgrims Fried Poultry and a significant amount of America’s beef packing capacity.

“When the supply industry starts doing this, I’m thinking, you know, this technology is probably going to succeed it someday,” he added. “And you think about as important as poultry and hogs are to this state, what that would do. Believer Meats, if they produce what they say they’re going to produce, would produce about the same amount of poultry as I believe it’s Anson County, which is our third largest poultry county. It’s a big deal if it goes forward.” 

As a cattle farmer, Brown said it would suit him fine if the new technology does not move forward.

Democrats in favor of lab-grown meat raised concerns about the font size requirements and applauded its potential to reduce greenhouse emissions, cure hunger, and increase the humane treatment of animals. They raised concerns over regulatory barriers and stifling innovation. 

“I’m pretty sure you’re going to still see a lot of carbon footprint from this type of activity, because I don’t think this product is going to miraculously appear like manna from heaven,” said Rep. Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort. “I would appreciate if we had labels that were visible, particularly when it’s something important, like knowing whether I’m eating real food or manufactured food.”

Could the MAHA movement gain traction at the state level?

With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. now at the helm of the US Department of Health and Human Services, bringing a focus on health and well-being, the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement could gain traction at the state level with food transparency efforts. 

Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, agreed on the importance of food labeling, saying that people need to know exactly what they are consuming. Harrison previously worked on legislation to require genetically modified organism (GMO) labeling and highlighted the lack of state-level requirements for GMO and organic product labeling, questioning whether such mandates exist in North Carolina law.

While the state’s Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act includes general provisions about misbranding, most labeling regulations fall under federal jurisdiction. Although the FDA and USDA are working on standards for cell-cultured food products, no comprehensive regulations have been finalized yet. 

With Kennedy’s health-centric leadership at HHS, movements like MAHA may push for clearer and more stringent food guidelines across states. In West Virginia, the legislature passed a sweeping ban on food dyes last which, which is expected to become law and will make it one of the first states in the nation to regulate artificial dyes and preservatives in food.

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