Rep. Miller Files Legislation to Ban Cultivated Meat in Illinois

House Bill 5872

Springfield, IL…State Representative Chris Miller (R-Hindsboro) has taken swift action to ban cultivated meat in Illinois by filing House Bill 5872. Growing concerns from the notion of replacing real meat with laboratories to replicate a natural process is the biggest factor. Rep. Miller said the legislation would protect individual’s health, farmland, and agricultural products.

“Agriculture is big business in Illinois, and we don’t need fake meat laboratories creating a highly expensive product that tries to replicate real meat,” said Rep. Miller. “Illinois farmers know what they’re doing, and it they do it well.”

Cultivated meat is produced with animal cells grown in labs with bioreactors. Employees grow sheets of tissue in plastic flasks, called roller bottles, and combine them to create larger pieces of chicken or beef. Opposition to this process is spreading due to safety concerns, high costs, and overall lack of research.

Rep. Miller continued, “The ideology behind cultivating animal cells to improve carbon emissions is mind-blowing. Here in Illinois, farmers work hard to raise cattle and produce some of the finest meat on the market. My legislation would protect farmers and the high-quality products they help produce to feed families across the nation.”

HB 5872 would ban the manufacturing, selling, and distribution of lab-grown meat across the state of Illinois. Anyone who violates this Act would be committing a Class C misdemeanor.

 For more information, please contact Rep. Miller’s office at (217) 508-4108

Representative Chris Miller serves the constituents of Illinois’ 101st House District that includes parts of Coles County, including portions of Champaign, Douglas, and Vermilion Counties along the I-57 corridor.

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