Italy’s right-wing government, led by Giorgia Meloni, has introduced a bill that would ban the use and sale of lab-grown food and animal products, which essentially includes all synthetic food items. The aim of this legislation is to safeguard the country’s agri-food heritage, according to government ministers. The bill will now be presented to parliament for adoption within two months, after which a blanket ban will be imposed on the Italian food industry for producing food or feed ‘from cell cultures or tissues derived from vertebrate animals.’ Additionally, the bill stipulates a hefty fine of 60,000 euros ($65,022).
Francesco Lollobrigida, a senior member of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, stated that ‘Laboratory products in our opinion do not guarantee quality, well-being and the protection of our culture, our tradition.’ The move was supported by Italy’s agricultural association Coldiretti, which organised a flash mob in central Rome with the message ‘no to synthetic food.’ The organisation’s president, Ettore Prandini, emphasised that Italy has a duty to be at the forefront of food policies to defend citizens and businesses, given its leadership in food quality and safety.
However, opponents of the move criticised the government for shutting down a nascent industry. According to Alice Ravenscroft, head of policy at the Good Food Institute Europe, the legislation would hold back scientific progress and climate mitigation efforts. The passing of such a law would shut down the economic potential of this nascent field in Italy, she said.
Meloni’s government has also injected nationalism into the food debate by pledging to protect the country and its food habits from technological innovations deemed harmful. In a related move, her administration renamed the agriculture ministry to the ‘ministry for agriculture and food sovereignty.’
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