Lab-grown meat, post-disaster looting among topics discussed by legislature

Jan. 14, 2025, 5 p.m. ·

Senator Mike Jacobson speaks Tuesday (Photo by Fred Knapp, Nebraska Public Media News)
Sen. Mike Jacobson speaks Tuesday. (Fred Knapp/Nebraska Public Media News)

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Proposals to ban the manufacture and sale of lab grown meat in Nebraska, and to stiffen penalties for looting in areas hit by natural disasters, were among those introduced in the Legislature Tuesday.

Gov. Jim Pillen is backing a pair of proposals affecting agriculture. One, introduced by Sen. Barry DeKay, would ban the sale and manufacture of lab-grown meat. Another, to be introduced by Sen. Mike Jacobson, is aimed at protecting data used by farmers. Pillen said it’s important to be proactive when it comes to the state’s largest industry.

“It’s really, really important that we not only defend agriculture but that we get on offense and be assertive in our position of agriculture,” Pillen said.

Pillen added a ban on lab-grown meat, which is cultured from cells and then grown with nutrients, should be part of that offensive.

“Sen. DeKay is introducing legislation on this topic at my request, that will ban petri-dish meat – I call it ‘bioreactor meat’ – from being made or sold or distributed in Nebraska," Pillen said. "It’s really simple. If somebody wants to eat that stuff, they’re welcome to it. They’re just not going to find it on Nebraska grocery stores. They can get it through Amazon or however they want."

Pillen was asked why the state should be in the business of telling retailers what they can and cannot sell.

“Our job is to make sure that we protect the livelihood of Nebraska," he said. "Our job is to protect consumers. Our job is to protect agriculture and defend agriculture. That’s a responsibility. Most of us want government out of our hair, but there’s places where government needs to step in and protect us."

Ansley Fellers of the Nebraska Grocery Industry Association said lab grown meat is not currently available in Nebraska. She said the association has not yet taken a position on the bill.

Jacobson said the ag data bill will ensure that farmers maintain control of data generated by their equipment on topics like seed and fertilizer application, rather than seeing that data controlled and sold by large corporations. He said his goal is to avoid possible market manipulation.

“There’s a lot of things that can be done if you want to aggregate all of that information, particularly with the use of AI – can give you some significant power," Jacobson said. "And obviously the largest corporate entities that own the chemical companies, they would have the capacity to be able to generate that information and be able to probably use it to really track markets and potentially manipulate ag markets, and that’s something that very much concerns agriculture -- farmers and ranchers."

Meanwhile, Sen. Brad von Gillern, who’s from Elkhorn, introduced legislation to stiffen penalties for people convicted of breaking the law in the aftermath of natural disasters. In an interview with Nebraska Public Media News, von Gillern talked about the aftermath of storms last Spring.

“After the tornados in Omaha, there were folks that came out and there was looting, there were assaults, those kind of things. It’s bad enough that somebody steals from you. But to steal from somebody one who’s gone through a natural disaster is in my mind deserving of a greater penalty,” von Gillern said.

And Sen. Danielle Conrad introduced legislation to require the health insurance plan that covers state employees to offer coverage of in vitro fertilization. Conrad said it’s coverage state employees are currently lacking.

“If we can do a little bit to provide access, without saddling state taxpayers with any additional financial impact, to help more Nebraskans start a family or expand a family, that’s the kind of common ground, common sense reproductive justice measures that I think can move through this body,” Conrad said.

Conrad introduced similar legislation last year, but it failed to advance out of committee.

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