Monroe Review

State Rep. Jim DeSana has introduced legislation to ban the sale of lab-grown meat in Michigan. Additionally, he has proposed a resolution to enshrine the right to hunt in the state’s constitution.

“This is about protecting our ranchers and about protecting the integrity of our food supply,” said DeSana, R-Carleton. “This is also about protecting your right to provide food for yourself and your family.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the sale of "cell-cultivated meat" last year. In May, Florida, under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, became the first state to ban lab-grown meat.

“Florida is fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs to achieve their authoritarian goals,” DeSantis said at the time. The World Economic Forum has advocated eating insects as a solution to global warming.

DeSana’s legislation defines “cultivated meat” as “a meat or meat product that was produced from cultured animal tissue produced from in vitro animal cell cultures outside of the animal from which the cells were derived.”

“Eating real meat is healthy,” DeSana stated.

DeSana, currently serving his first term as a lawmaker, decided to run for office after his son was prevented from competing on a rowing team during his senior year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“The ‘follow-the-science’ crowd canceled a sport that competes outside in the fresh air, on a river. I’m done with these people,” DeSana said. “I don’t trust them when they say to follow TheScience because they did some of the most anti-scientific things possible, and they still haven’t acknowledged the harm they caused. So no, I don’t want lab-grown meat as a substitute for the real thing and I don’t want to get my protein by eating bugs. Let the chickens eat the bugs the way nature intended; we’ll eat the chickens.”

House Bill 5879, aimed at banning lab-grown meat sales, was introduced on June 27 and sent to the agriculture committee.

On June 27, DeSana also introduced a resolution to enshrine hunting rights in Michigan’s constitution.

“During the pandemic, there were meat shortages. Grocery store meat sections were empty,” DeSana said. “I want to make sure the right to hunt is explicitly included in our constitution so that we are always able to feed our families. And we should do this now because Vice President Harris wants to implement price controls on food, which historically has led to shortages.”

DeSana highlighted historical famines such as those during Ukraine's Holodomor and China's Great Leap Forward as examples of man-made disasters caused by government policies.

The resolution would allow voters to amend Michigan's constitution by adding provisions recognizing rights related to hunting, fishing, trapping, and harvesting wildlife while ensuring regulations promote sound wildlife conservation and management without affecting laws on trespassing or private property rights unrelated to hunting.

If approved by lawmakers, this amendment would be presented at the next general election following its legislative passage.

House Joint Resolution U of 2024 was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, Environment, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation.

A farmer for two decades and member of both Michigan Sheep Producers and Michigan Cattleman’s Association, DeSana operates Shamrock Station with his wife where they raise grass-fed lambs among other livestock in northern Monroe County.

DeSana represents Michigan's 29th House District encompassing parts of Monroe County and Wayne County southwest of Detroit including Monroe, Taylor, Romulus along with Carleton village Ash Township Huron Township French township portions.