Italy is to ban meat produced in laboratories and other synthetic foods as the government seeks to protect the country’s culinary history and Mediterranean diet.
Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister, added “food sovereignty” to her remit when she came to power in the autumn and now ministers have backed legislation blocking “test tube” food.
“Laboratory products do not guarantee quality, well-being and the protection of the Italian food and wine culture, to which part of our tradition is linked,” said Francesco Lollobrigida, the minister for agriculture.
If the policy is passed by parliament, companies flouting the rules will face fines of up to €60,000 and see their goods confiscated.
The move was welcomed by Coldiretti, a farmers’ association, which launched a petition against synthetic foods attracting more than 500,000 signatures.
“After meat, experimentation has been extended to fish and to milk, endangering the natural characteristics of the foods that are the biggest part of our diet,” said Ettore Prandini, the head of Coldiretti.
But critics said synthetic food had huge advantages, from preventing cruelty to livestock to reducing emissions produced by the rearing of cattle.
Mathilde Alexandre, from ProVeg International, said the proposal to ban cultivated meat products was “draconian”. She added: “Cultivated meat is an important new technology that can positively affect the food system in reducing carbon emissions and pollution.
“It supports animal welfare and biodiversity, while being a real lever for economic growth.”
Opposition politicians said the ban made little sense when the EU was likely to allow such products on to the market anyway.
“Instead of welcoming a potential new development opportunity, the government rushes to ban it, imagining health risks that no one has ever shown,” said Giordano Masini, of the centre-Left More Europe party. (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2023)
Telegraph Media Group Limited [2023]