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Nebraska Governor has issued an executive order prohibiting state agencies from purchasing lab-grown Meat.

What’s the deal: Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen issued an executive order banning state agencies from purchasing lab-grown Meat, vowing to reinforce his support for traditional agriculture in the state. The order is similar to Florida Governor Ron Desantis’s move, which was done to “fight back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs to achieve their authoritarian goals.”

Digging Deeper: Governor Pillen’s decision to ban Nebraska state agencies from purchasing lab-grown Meat stems from his strong support for the state’s traditional beef industry, a vital part of Nebraska’s economy. As the leading producer of commercial red Meat and the top state for cattle slaughter, Nebraska has over 6.8 million cattle on feed; this industry supports thousands of jobs and contributes over $1 billion annually to the state’s agricultural exports.

Pushback: The executive order banning lab-grown meat in Nebraska has drawn backlash from companies in the cultivated meat industry, who argue that these policies hinder innovation and limit consumer choice. Good Meat, a leading company in the sector, recently sued Florida over a similar ban, claiming it infringes on freedom and individual liberty by restricting what consumers can buy.