Des Moines, Iowa — A bill that’s cleared an Iowa Senate committee targets protein products marketed as meat, but that are made from insects, plants or even stem cell cultures.
Selling something labeled as beef, chicken, pork, turkey, goat or lamb that contains even a small percentage of protein that’s not meat would become illegal in Iowa. The fine for the crime would be 855 dollars and the potential for up to 30 days in jail. Senator Dawn Driscoll, a Republican from Williamsburg, is the bill’s sponsor.
Driscoll raises Angus cattle on her family farm in Iowa County.
The bill would prohibit the three state universities from conducting research into the production or use of manufactured protein products.
Senator Nate Boulton, a Democrat from Des Moines, says cutting off research is unwise.
Senator William Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, says the bill pits the livestock industry against farmers who’re raising protein-rich soybeans.
If the bill becomes law all of the state’s school districts, Iowa’s community colleges as well as Iowa, Iowa State and UNI would be required to have policies preventing the purchase of plant- or insect-based food labeled as meat.
