I came across this editorial (yes, it's opinion piece) about the anti alternative meats legal woes in Wisconsin. I thought it was worth sharing. I, too, worry about education in Wisconsin if these bills pass. I look forward to other thoughts. I've included the link so you can see the full editorial, but have inserted some...
https://lnkd.in/guzRR6a7
Editor's blog: They’re failing the children in Wisconsin
There’s no nice way to say it: I think the schools in Wisconsin are doing a severe disservice to their constituents. Given recent statements by Wisconsin State Rep. Peter Schmidt, I’m not really sure what other conclusion I could reach.
To wit, Schmidt recently put forward two bills around banning cultivated meat and restricting labeling on plant-based dairy alternatives. This, in itself, isn’t terribly surprising. There’s recently been a flurry of state-level bills aimed at cultivated meat in largely conservative American states.
But unlike other state-level bills — which typically point to protecting farmers’ livelihoods or the particulars of labeling — the discourse around the Wisconsin bill is heavily reliant on falsehoods directly from the bill’s sponsor himself.
According to Schmidt, who's been censured by his own party, cultivated meat isn’t regulated as carefully as conventional meat, which is demonstrably false. While the USDA’s FSIS inspects conventional meat products, cultivated meat is, at this time, regulated by two government bodies: the FSIS and the FDA. If anything, cultivated meat is under more scrutiny than traditional meat. Some might say twice as much.
Schmidt has additionally stated that there is “little scientific research” on cultivated meat. This, I think, will come as a surprise to the FDA, which certified that cultivated meat products made by both Upside Foods and Eat Just were safe to eat. It will likely also surprise the hundreds (thousands?) of people who’ve tasted cultivated meat at Bar Crenn or China Chilcano or at tastings all over the world over the past ten-ish years. (Including our editor-in-chief, who sampled Good Meat's cultivated chicken while in Singapore: You can see her video review here.)
The Assemblyman has also stated that he’s “heard rumors” that restaurants have switched to serving cultivated meat without informing diners when they run out of conventional meat. This, in particular, would be laughable if it weren’t so blisteringly stupid.
Consider: Cultivated meat is currently so difficult to produce at scale that it’s literally only available at two restaurants in the United States and only on certain nights.
Associate Product Line Manager @ Lazarus Naturals | Certified Nutrition Coach
3moThey're soo good! I love dipping them in tzatziki 😍