His far right government Italy promotes bill to ban lab-grown synthetic meatto protect health and Italian cuisine.

If the bill becomes law, this ban would in practice result in fines of more than 60,000 euros.

Francesco Lollobrigida, Minister of Agriculture, stressed the importance of traditional Italian cuisine, while supporters of agriculture and animal husbandry hailed the initiative.

“Laboratory products do not guarantee the quality, well-being and protection of the culture and traditions of Italian cuisine and wine, with which our tradition is associated,” said Lollobrigida, who comes from the far right of the Georgia Meloni sisters.

The current bill, approved by ministers yesterday, Tuesday, aims to ban synthetic food made from animal cells in the laboratory without killing the animals. This is the continuation of a series of government regulations banning the use of flour derived from insects such as crickets and locusts in pizza or pasta.

Ministers cite the famous Mediterranean diet as the motive for both of these initiatives.

However, the development is a huge blow to animal welfare groups, which emphasize that lab-grown meat offers a sustainable solution to a range of issues, including protecting the environment from carbon emissions and protecting public health.

As the International Organization for Animal Welfare (Oipa) notes, lab-grown meat, although derived from animal cells, is an “ethical alternative” that does not require the slaughter of animals, does not harm their well-being and environmental sustainability and food security.

Coldiretti (Italy’s largest agricultural union) and other organizations and lobbies have organized a campaign in defense of “natural food from synthetic”, having managed to collect half a million signatures in recent months, including Prime Minister Meloni.

However, even if the bill is passed, Italy will ultimately be unable to avoid the sale of synthetic meat produced in the EU after the necessary licensing, thanks to the free circulation of goods and services, analysts say.

Last November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for the first time the marketing of a chicken meat product that was developed in a laboratory using animal cells as a raw material and intended for human consumption.

Source: BBC