Updated: Cell-cultured meat remains focus of new laws and legislation across the Midwest

Midwestern state legislatures continued to consider and pass legislation on cell-cultured meat in the second half of the 2025-2026 biennium. A previously published legislative tracker and Midwest map (see below) have been updated and is current as of May 4, 2026. 

As of April 2026, most states in the Midwest had laws of some kind on “lab-grown meats,” though they vary in scope and intent. Some of the new statutes place temporary or permanent bans on production and sales. Others establish packaging and labeling requirements or prohibit state and/or local entities from purchasing cell-cultured meats.

Background on legislative, regulatory actions

Derived from the muscle tissue cells of a live animal, cell-cultured meat is grown in laboratories. The cell-cultured meat industry remains in a pilot commercialization phase.

In summer 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service authorized the sale of cell-cultured chicken produced by two California startups. It marked the first-ever approval by the federal agency. Later that year, for a brief period, this lab-grown meat was part of the menu at two U.S. restaurants. (As of April 2026, lab-grown meats were not being produced for consumption or sale in the United States.)

In 2024, Florida and Alabama became the first U.S. states with statutory bans on the sale and production of cell-cultured meat. Soon after passage of the Florida measure, a California startup (UPSIDE FOODS) brought a case challenging the law’s constitutionality.

In 2025, Nebraska became the first Midwestern state to prohibit the sale or manufacture of cultivated protein food products (LB 246). The law’s prohibition is based on classifying cultivated protein food products as “adulterated,” thereby making their sale or manufacturing a deceptive trade practice.

Legislative activity in Midwest: 2025

In 2025, bills were introduced in Illinois, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio and South Dakota to prohibit in-state production and sales of cell-cultured meat. Proposed legislation that year in Indiana and Minnesota focused on labeling restrictions. Here is an overview of enacted laws from that year.

• Two bills were signed into law in South Dakota in February 2025: HB 1022, which adds labeling requirements, and HB 1118, which prohibits state funding for research, production, promotion, sale or distribution of cell-cultured protein.
• North Dakota HB 1151 changed significantly prior to being signed into law in April 2025. The measure initially prohibited in-state consumer sales and production of cell-cultured protein. The enacted legislation requires a study of the regulatory landscape of implementing a prohibition on cell-cultured protein.
• Indiana HB 1425 also underwent significant changes before being signed into law in May 2025. The initial bill required a study of the product’s safety and placed a one-year moratorium on sales. The enacted measure places a two-year moratorium on the sale and manufacturing of cultivated meat products. The measure also addresses labeling requirements.
• Nebraska LB 246 was signed by Gov. Jim Pillen in May 2025. The enacted measure, predicated on a 2024 executive order, passed without significant changes during the legislative process. It prohibits the manufacture and sales of cultivated-protein food products by classifying the product as “adulterated food.”
• In December 2025, Ohio HB 10 was signed into law. It establishes packaging and labeling requirements for cultivated-protein food products and penalties for violations. The measure also prohibits schools and institutions of higher education from purchasing cultivated-protein food products.

Legislative activity in Midwest: 2026

In 2026, Midwestern legislatures again introduced new bills to restrict, regulate or ban lab-grown or cell-cultured meats. Here is an overview of some of the significant legislative actions.

• South Dakota legislators (SB 124 of 2026) have placed a five-year prohibition on the sale, manufacturing and distribution of any cell-cultured protein. This action followed passage of a 2025 law requiring clear labeling of such products and prohibiting the use of state funds for their research or production (HB 1022). Also in 2026, Gov. Larry Rhoden vetoed HB 1077. That measure classified cultivated protein as adulterated food, which would have effectively prohibited its sale or distribution. A legislative attempt to override the veto was unsuccessful.  Lawmakers also failed to pass HB 1109, which proposed a 10-year prohibition on the sale or manufacture of cell-cultured protein.
• In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers vetoed AB 554, which would have restricted the sale of lab-grown meat unless appropriately labeled. The bill also sought to prohibit schools and other state institutions from serving lab-grown meat, with limited exceptions.

Becky Leis, staff liaison for The Council of State Governments’ Midwestern Legislative Conference Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee, wrote about the issue of lab-grown meats in early 2025, examining how and why legislatures were addressing the issue for an article that appeared in the CSG publication Stateline Midwest. She has since been tracking legislative activity over the 2026-2026 biennium.

Read the full Stateline Midwest article from January 2025