There was a time when the right wing railed against Michelle Obama for encouraging kids to eat their vegetables and go outside to play and had a complete meltdown over governments trying to stop kids from drinking so much sugary soda that there is now an epidemic of obesity among children. How dare the government deign to advise Americans about healthy eating.
Just a couple of months ago there was a story that health experts were considering telling people that they should cut down on beer consumption and it resulted in this lovely retort:
Needless to say, nobody is talking about shutting down the beer or soda pop industry or limiting Ted Cruz from drinking as much as he wants to.
Get a load of what the freedom loving right is up to now. Yes, Florida is leading the way, once again:
Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a press conference Friday that he opposes the promulgation of lab-grown meat in Florida.
Discussing his opposition to implanting an environmental agenda on farmers, the governor noted that lawmakers are working through legislation to ban lab-grown meat production.
“You need meat. OK?” the governor said. “We’re gonna have meat in Florida.”
“We’re gonna have fake meat? That doesn’t work,” he said. “We’re gonna make sure to do it right.”
Rep. Tyler Sirois, R-Merritt Island, is the sponsor for HB 435. The legislation has so far passed one subcommittee in the House and has two more to go.
Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, is the sponsor for SB 586. That bill has not been taken up by any of its committee assignments yet.
A bill by Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, SB 1084, also would crack down on lab-grown meat, with other provisions included. It has passed one of its three committee assignments so far.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson has been working with lawmakers to push that provision, along with farmer tax breaks and other measures.
This is obviously a sop to the meat industry which doesn’t want the competition. In the world as we previously knew it the market decides if people want the alternative product or not and I would guess that most people are still going to choose the real thing when it comes to meat. Nobody is proposing to force people to eat Impossible or Beyond Beef but now DeSantis is proposing to ensure that those who want it can’t have it. Because, as he says, “you need meat!”
It’s not just about helping out his rich buddies, though. It’s also another salvo in the right’s culture jihad where he remains its Osama bin Laden. He’s been pushed back to Tallahassee but he hasn’t given up.