Viral posts mislead on Italy's 'lab-grown meat' ban

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Viral posts mislead on Italy's 'lab-grown meat' ban  Italy passed a law banning cultivated or cell-based meat years ago, but posts online suggesting that it has just happened have prompted conflicting claims related to the product.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/12/09/viral-posts-mislead-on-italys-lab-grown-meat-ban  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00Viral posts mislead on Italy's lab meat ban.

00:06What's the deal with cultivated meat?

00:09Posts have recently gone viral online,

00:12saying that Italy has just become the first country in the world to ban it,

00:15prompting a discussion about its safety and consumption.

00:18This image, posted on Instagram and X, for example,

00:22features a picture of Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney

00:24and says that Italy has banned Bill Gates' lab-grown meat,

00:27hinting at a conspiracy linked to the US businessman.

00:31Yes, Italy did pass a law in 2023 banning cultivated or lab-grown meat,

00:36but it's not a new development and there was no specific targeting of Gates.

00:41It is true that he's among the investors backing some of the major companies pushing cell-based meat,

00:46but Italy's ban wasn't tailored to him.

00:49The ban itself is also more nuanced than it first appears.

00:52Analysts have labelled the law as potentially unenforceable

00:55because Italy passed it before the end of the EU scrutiny period,

00:59which would have checked whether it harmed the single market.

01:02Some say that as a result,

01:04courts could strike it down as inapplicable under EU law

01:07until the proper procedure is followed, making its future uncertain.

01:11As things stand,

01:12the EU hasn't yet authorised any meat products derived from lab-grown cells,

01:17but some companies have applied for marketing authorisation.

01:20In these cases, the European Food Safety Agency gives a risk assessment of the product,

01:25which the European Commission generally follows.

01:27Italy isn't the only EU country that's expressed concern over lab-grown meat,

01:31with Hungary's parliament also recently voting through a ban.

01:35Supporters of cultivated meat say it improves animal welfare,

01:38limits our exposure to foodborne pathogens like salmonella,

01:42and requires less land and water than normal meat production.

01:45However, critics raise concerns over its CO2 emissions over time

01:49and potential chemical contamination,

01:52while some consumers are sceptical of its origin.

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