Montana

Montana lawmakers propose outlawing lab-grown meat products

Published

12 months ago

March 12, 2025

Montana lawmakers propose outlawing lab-grown meat products

Jordan Hansen

(Daily Montanan) A proposal to ban lab-grown meat in Montana cleared the House last week and will head to the Senate after this week’s legislative break.

House Bill 401, brought by Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls, would criminalize the sale of meat grown in a lab. A similar bill passed in Florida last year and an injunction against the law being put in place was denied by a federal judge in the Sunshine State late last year.

Supporters of the bill pointed to the 2.1 million cows being raised for beef in the state and questions around unknown human health effects from consuming lab-grown meat. There were no opponents in the bill’s hearing.

“I have some grave concerns over the use and production of lab-grown meat,” Rep. Randyn Gregg, R-White Sulphur Springs, who is co-sponsoring the legislation, said during the hearing. “The process is a fusion of dystopia. One could call it Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ meets Keanu Reeves in ‘The Matrix.’”

The bill has more than 70 co-sponsors, mostly Republican, with a handful of Democrats joining in. The sponsors include much of the Republican Senate and House leadership. The bill passed its third reading to move to the Senate on a 64-35 vote.

Mitchell also specifically noted the bill was not targeting plant-based products designed to taste like meat. Plant-based meats are usually made from tofu, tempeh, or soy.

Beyond any potential unknown health consequences, Mitchell said, it was also to help protect an important part of the Montana economy. The total value of the state’s agricultural industry is about $4 billion, according to the Montana Legislative Fiscal Division.

“This bill will help promote the Montana agricultural industry and keep it strong and thriving in the state of Montana,” Mitchell said during his bill’s hearing. “I think we have a unique opportunity here to put the hammer down clearly and show that we stand with agriculture and that we stand with our cattle ranchers.”

Lab-grown meat, which more simply is making food from animal cells, starts with a small sample of cells from a donor animal. According to the Food and Drug Administration, this can be done without harming or killing the animal.

These cells are then selected, screened and grown. The cells grow in a controlled and monitored environment that supports the growth of the cells. Other nutrients, “protein growth factors” are added to help the cells differentiate and can assume the characteristics of muscle, fat or connective tissue.

Once the cells have multiplied enough times, they can be harvested and prepared for sale using traditional food processing and packaging norms.

The FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture are jointly overseeing the development of these relatively new food products.

The FDA completed its first pre-market consultation of animal cell culture meat in November 2022, saying it had, “no further questions at this time about the firm’s safety conclusion.” The company, UPSIDE Foods, has sold its product in some places in the U.S.

HB 401 would make selling the meat a misdemeanor, which did come up during debate on the House floor.

“I have a beef with this bill, a bone to pick, you might say. I don’t want to get roasted here, but the stakes are just too high,” said Rep. SJ Howell, D-Missoula, during a March 4 floor session. “In all seriousness, this bill puts a criminal penalty on selling this kind of meat, and goes from a labeling bill to a criminal penalty bill and that’s just a little too far for me.”

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Montana

Evacuation orders issued as 5,000-acre wildfire burns near Roundup, Montana

Published

39 minutes ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Evacuation orders issued as 5,000-acre wildfire burns near Roundup, Montana

ROUNDUP, Mont. —
The Rehder Creek Fire is burning 16 miles southeast of Roundup has grown to about 5,000 acres, prompting evacuation orders for residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision.

The fire started Feb. 26, the cause is unknown and containment was at 0%.

Evacuation orders are in effect for all residents in the Bruner Mountain Area/Subdivision. The Musselshell County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating the evacuation orders, and 911 reverse calls have been sent out to advise people in the area.

A shelter is opening at the Roundup Community Center. Residents were told to contact Musselshell County DES for further information.

Firefighter and public safety remain the top priority. The public is asked to avoid the Fattig Creek and Rehder Road area so emergency personnel can safely and effectively perform their work.

Fire resources assigned to the incident include 40 total personnel, 11 engines, one Type 2 helicopter, three tenders and two dozers.

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Montana

February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

Published

13 hours ago

February 27, 2026

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February 26 recap: Missoula and Western Montana news you may have missed today

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Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

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Escobar, Jayapal, Members of Congress Call on Camp East Montana to be Shut Down – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) – joined by Representative Pramila Jayapal, the Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, and 22 other Members of Congress – sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons calling for the immediate closure of Camp East Montana in El Paso. They cite urgent humanitarian concerns following multiple deaths in custody, documented unsafe conditions, and serious deficiencies in medical care.

This marks the fourth letter Congresswoman Escobar has sent to DHS and ICE leadership. The previous three letters have gone unanswered.

The letter can be found in its entirety below and here.

“Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons:

We are urgently calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS or the Department) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to shut down Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas.

Camp East Montana has been operational for six months, and at least three people have died at the site since December 2025: Francisco Gaspar-Andres, Geraldo Lunas Campos, and Victor Manuel Diaz. The El Paso County Medical Examiner has officially ruled Lunas Campos’ death a homicide, citing “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.”

Camp East Montana was constructed in a matter of weeks and opened before construction was complete and it does not have enough federal staff on-site to provide adequate oversight. Over the last several months, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, in whose district this facility is located, has sent multiple letters to DHS and ICE regarding concerns about the conditions at Camp East Montana, and has received no responses.

According to detainees, there have been constant and consistent problems at the facility since it opened, beginning with the facility’s poor construction and poor ambient temperature control. Upon opening, the drinking water at Camp East Montana tasted foul and made some detainees sick. Detainees continue to be served inadequate meals, including food that is rotten or frozen; last fall, the facility was also consistently failing to make dietary accommodations for detainees. Detainees have shared that they have sporadic access to outside spaces and recreational areas, and that their dormitory pods are cleaned only once every eight days, despite pods housing up to 72 people at a time. Laundry services are not consistent, and people are washing their clothes in the facility showers. Additionally, the facility experiences flooding and sewage backups when it rains, leading to stagnant water.

One of the biggest concerns with the Camp East Montana facility is the inadequate medical care being provided to detainees. Our offices have heard that only the most ill detainees are referred to the medical unit and that there are inconsistencies as to how soon after arriving detainees are able to undergo initial medical screenings. Detainees with chronic health issues who rely on regimented medications for their health have had difficulty accessing necessary medications, including blood pressure medication and insulin.

At least one of the deaths that occurred in ICE custody, the death of Francisco Gaspar-Andres, appears to partially be the result of poor medical care by staff at the facility. According to ICE’s own account, Gaspar-Andres sought medical attention from facility staff for increasingly serious symptoms, but was only transferred to an area hospital once his condition had severely deteriorated.

In addition to our concerns about poor medical care, we are also aware that detainees have experienced irregular access to their legal counsel, including instances of detainees having only two minutes allotted per phone call every 8 days, which is contrary to ICE’s Detention Standards on access to counsel, and that the belatedly created law library lacks adequate resources for the amount of people currently held at the facility. In January 2026, ICE announced the on-site death of Geraldo Lunas Campos “after experiencing medical distress.” ICE opened an investigation into the death, but did not provide a cause of death. However, The Washington Post later reported that another man detained at Camp East Montana had witnessed guards choking Lunas Campos when he refused to enter a segregated housing unit. Weeks later, the El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled that Lunas Campos had experienced “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression” and ruled his death a homicide.

Lunas Campos is the first detainee to die at Camp East Montana as a result of a use-of-force incident, but we are strongly concerned that he will not be the last if ICE is allowed to continue operating Camp East Montana.

ICE was given $45 billion in taxpayer dollars in the reconciliation bill, $1.2 billion of which were awarded to Acquisition Logistics, LLC, a company with no previous experience managing immigration detention facilities, to build and oversee Camp East Montana. However, in the wake of three deaths in custody so far, continued concerns about conditions at the facility, and ICE’s apparent disinterest in responding to oversight letters from Congress, we do not believe Camp East Montana is being run professionally or responsibly.

Camp East Montana must be shut down. For the safety of everyone at the facility, for an end to abuses to detainees, and for fiscal responsibility to the American people, the site cannot continue to operate. We are calling on DHS and ICE to move to immediately close operations at Camp East Montana.

We look forward to hearing from the Department promptly on this matter.

The other co-signers include Representatives Yassamin Ansari, Nanette Barragán, Yvette Clarke, Lloyd Doggett, Maxwell Frost, Jesús “Chuy” García, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Henry Johnson, Stephen Lynch, Seth Moulton, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Delia Ramirez, Andrea Salinas, Janice Schakowsky, Darren Soto, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Lauren Underwood, Gabe Vasquez, and Nydia Velázquez.

Issues: Immigration

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