Montana
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.”
HELENA, Mont. — Montana counties have accepted enough signatures for Seth Bodnar, running for U.S. Senate and Michael Eisenhauer, running in Montana’s 2nd Congressional District, to be on the November ballot, although counts are still unofficial.
County election officials are continuing to verify signatures submitted by Tuesday’s deadline as part of the candidate petition process.
The Montana Secretary of State’s Office has not yet verified, certified or accepted the petitions, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
Counties must submit candidate petitions to the Secretary of State’s office by June 1.
The Secretary of State’s office will then conduct its “statutory review to ensure the petitions meet the necessary legal requirements under law.”
The deadline for the November general election ballot to be certified is Thursday, Aug. 20. By then, all qualifying candidates and any potential ballot issues that qualify for the general election will be officially certified.
The following was out by the Montana Secretary of State’s Office:
The attached report is unofficial. It includes totals that the county election officials have processed and entered in the system. These totals do not represent what the Secretary of State’s Office has received, reviewed, tabulated, or certified. The certified totals may differ from what is reflected.
Seth Bodnar, U.S. Senate
- 13,327 required
- 18,772 accepted
- 7,812 rejected
Kimberly Persico, MT-01
- 6,742 required
- 563 accepted
- 156 rejected
Michael Eisenhauer, MT-02
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- 7,274 required
- 7,754 accepted
- 4,720 rejected
Severe storms moved through parts of Montana on Thursday, prompting a total of 5 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings. Reports included strong wind gusts and hail in several communities, including Augusta, Choteau, Sunburst, Bigfork, Kalispell and Evergreen.
The strongest reported wind gust was 60 mph near Augusta, while hail up to 1 inch was reported near Evergreen and Kalispell.
STORM REPORTS:
12 SE Grant — 56 mph thunderstorm wind gust
7 NNE Augusta — 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust
5 ENE Choteau — 59 mph thunderstorm wind gust
Sunburst — 54 mph thunderstorm wind gust
Ennis — 59 mph thunderstorm wind gust
3 SSW Ennis — 52 mph thunderstorm wind gust
2 E Helena — 54 mph thunderstorm wind gust
19 E Swan Lake — 56 mph thunderstorm wind gust
2 NNW Yaak — thunderstorm wind damage – Multiple downed trees reported along Highway 2 between MM 3 and 8
3 WSW Blacktail — 53 mph thunderstorm wind gust
1 NNW Troy — 49 mph thunderstorm wind gust
5 ENE Choteau — 56 mph thunderstorm wind gust
Turah — 0.88″ hail
1 NNW Bigfork — 0.75″ hail
3 SW La Salle — 0.50″ hail
2 N Evergreen — 1.00″ hail
1 W Kalispell — 1.00″ hail
3 WNW Kalispell — 0.75″ hail
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LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A man from Las Vegas has been sentenced after stealing coins and precious metals from a Helena shop in Montana.
This comes after Bishop Lott, 47, pleaded guilty in January to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property.
A judge sentenced Lott on Thursday to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $276,153.08 in restitution to the Helena business as well as five other theft victims.
MORE | Southern California man pleads guilty to importing, trafficking 70 pounds of ketamine
The government alleged in court documents that Lott, along with Ricky Rynell Rose, broke into Wayne Miller Coins in Helena and stole nearly $59,000 in coins and precious metals from a Helena business.
Rose pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to 39 months in prison.
The Helena Police Department received a call on March 3, 2024, reporting that Wayne Miller Coins had been burglarized earlier that day.
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As part of their investigation, Helena police officers reviewed surveillance footage from multiple businesses. They analyzed email account data, which led them to Lott and Rose, who had taken the stolen material to Nevada.
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