BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has signed a bill to define meat and prohibit deceptive marketing of cell-cultured products that mimic meat.
House Bill 1400 had passed both chambers of the North Dakota Legislature, with only one dissenting vote in each chamber.
The Legislature also passed a companion to the bill, House Concurrent Resolution 3024, which urges Congress to take similar actions to differentiate meat from lab-produced, meat-like proteins.
North Dakota is one of several states to take up bills defining meat and prohibiting lab-produced substances from being called meat. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem also signed Senate Bill 68, which deals with labeling and prohibits misrepresentation of products. Montana's Real Meat Act, House Bill 327, awaits action from the Senate after passing the House.
Differentiating meat from cell-cultured products now in development have been important efforts for the livestock and agriculture industries. The example of dairy, which now has to compete with plant-based "milk" products, has been held up as a reason to act.
