East Central Reporter

State Representative Chris Miller (R-Hindsboro) has filed House Bill 5872, aiming to ban cultivated meat in Illinois. The legislation addresses concerns about replacing traditional meat with lab-grown alternatives and aims to protect public 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 they do it well.”

Cultivated meat is produced using 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 growing due to safety concerns, high costs, and an overall lack of research.

Rep. Miller added, “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.”

House Bill 5872 would ban the manufacturing, selling, and distribution of lab-grown meat across Illinois. Violators would be committing a Class C misdemeanor.

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

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

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