“Fake meat” has long been a more humane, environmentally friendly alternative to genuine, authentic meat. However, a new contestant is entering the pseudo-meat arena under our very noses: goodbye, tofurkey; hello, lab-grown meats.
Approximately $3 billion in private investments, including support from industry tycoon Tyson Foods, financed the niche technologies that transform animal cells into meat-like food products.[1] This transformation involves five distinct steps: (1) collecting a tissue sample from an animal; (2) screening cells to create a “bank” of qualified candidates; (3) adding nutrients and protein complexes to spur cellular growth and multiplication; (4) harvesting the cellular material; and (5) processing the final food product.[2]
A seemingly bizarre, if not dystopian, concept, cell-cultivated meat is now less of a sci-fi idea and more of an imminent, coming-to-a-store-near-you reality. In 2023, the United States became the second country in the world to allow the commercial sale of this new technology/ food hybrid,[3] following the FDA’s 2022 pronouncement of cell-cultured meat as safe for human consumption.[4]
Despite North Carolina’s prominence within the real animal production sphere,[5] the state has taken a potentially controversial stance by opting not to join the eight Republican states that, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s backing, have outright banned lab-grown meat, either temporarily or permanently.[6] North Carolina House Representative Jimmy Dixon embodies the state’s approach in saying, “if Mr. or Mrs. consumer decides to purchase [synthetic meat], that’s their right.”[7] However, implicit in Mr. Dixon’s statement was the assumption that Mr. and Mrs. consumer would, indeed, know whether the meat they were buying came from a farm or from a test tube. This assumption, as North Carolinians may soon find out, is unfortunately not a guarantee.
Having already determined not to ban the fake meat altogether, the only remaining question was whether, and to what extent, to regulate it. The answer arrived in the form of two Republican-led bills, House Bill 134 (“HB 134”) and House Bill 135 (“HB 135”), introduced on February 17, 2025.[8] HB 134 would prohibit the misbranding of cultivated meat products by demanding proper consumer labeling.[9] More specifically, the bill would require products to disclose their “fake” status in a manner that would clearly signal to a “reasonable purchaser of meat products” that this product is, in fact, not meat.[10] A company may do this by using any of the approved terms (“cell-cultured,” “fake,” “lab-grown,” or “grown in a lab”), written in either 20-point font or the size of the surrounding type (whichever is greater), and placed in close proximity to the name of the product.[11] HB 135 reiterates the labeling requirements, but would additionally prohibit community colleges, universities, and public schools from purchasing any cell-cultured food.[12]
From February to March of last year, HB 134 journeyed through various House committees, eventually passing a first vote (with 106 voting “aye” and just 11 voting “no”), and currently sits before the Senate Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate.[13] During the same time frame, HB 135 passed a first reading and saw several referrals to various House committees.[14] As of April 29, 2025, the bill is sitting in front of the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development,[15] and a search of recent Committee agendas and documents reveal no mention of HB 135.[16]Despite each bill’s current status, Lexis’s Legislative Outlook tool reports a medium chance of passage for HB 134,[17]but a high chance of passage for HB 135.[18]
If HB 134 and HB 135 ultimately pass, North Carolina will join the ranks of the states who chose to protect their people and markets via labeling regulations: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia (whose proposed ban failed last year[19]), Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.[20] If the bills fail to pass, North Carolina would at least be in the company of over two dozen other states who, whether due to legislative failure or intentional silence, have yet to enact laws on the matter.
Should HB 134 and HB 135 never evolve beyond bills, it could signal a pattern: the joint venture between lab-grown meats and North Carolina has been far from smooth sailing. In 2023, Israeli company Believer Meats chose, of all places, our very own Wilson to establish the world’s largest cell-grown meat production factory, a “state-of-the-art” facility.[21] Wilson, nestled just outside the research triangle and equipped with “one of the most educated populations in the U.S.,” won out over more than two dozen other locations considered.[22] The deal—sweetened by a $100,000 grant[23] and a “warm embrace” from NCBiotech,[24] as well as $500,000[25] from the One North Carolina Fund—promised 100 local jobs and to cement North Carolina as the “best in the nation to do business,” said former Governor Roy Cooper.[26] In July 2025, the $123 million 200,000-square-foot facility was completed, and by November of the same year, Believer Meats had secured required federal approval from both the USDA and the FDA.[27] Unfortunately, just one month later, Believer Meats was sued for allegedly failing to pay $34 million in design and construction bills.[28]The company promptly called it quits, and, with it, went North Carolina’s dreams of becoming the nation’s first fake meat hub.[29]
Undoubtedly, another meat magnate will fill the vacuum left by Believer Meats, so one thing remains clear: lab-grown meat will eventually be on our grocery shelves; all that’s left for us to do is hope that it finds a way into our law, too.
[1] Lisa S. Benson & Eleni G. Bickell, Cong. Rsch. Serv., R47697, Cell-Cultivated Meat: An overview (2023); Brianna Kraemer, With Lab-Grown Meat Production on the Rise in NC. Legislators Call for Better Food Labeling, The Carolina Journal (Mar. 20, 2025), https://www.carolinajournal.com/with-lab-grown-meat-production-on-the-rise-in-nc-legislators-call-for-better-food-labeling/.
[2] Benson & Bickell, supra note 1.
[3] Marline Kirsch et al., Cultivated Meat Manufacturing: Technology, Trends, and Challenges, National Library of Medicine (Nov. 20, 2023), https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10711323/.
[4] Leah Douglas, Lab-Grown Meat Cleared for Human Consumption by U.S. Regulator, Reuters, (Nov. 16, 2022) https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/lab-grown-meat-cleared-human-consumption-by-us-regulator-2022-11-16/.
[5] Hog Production by State 2026, World Population Review, https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/hog-production-by-state (last visited Mar. 27, 2026); Chicken Production by State 2026, World Population Review, https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/chicken-production-by-state (last visited Mar. 27, 2026).
[6] The eight Republican states include Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, Indiana, Texas, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Notably, South Dakota’s bill was signed just days ago. Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder, States Try to Snuff Out Lab-Grown Meat Before It Really Starts, U.S. News (Dec. 23, 2025), https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2025-12-23/states-try-to-snuff-out-lab-grown-meat-before-it-really-starts; Joshua Haiar, Governor Signs Lab-Grown Meat Moratorium, Property Protections, Crypto, National Security Bills, South Dakota Searchlight (Mar. 11, 2026), https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2026/03/11/governor-signs-lab-grown-meat-moratorium-property-protections-crypto-national-security-bills/.
[7] Kraemer, supra note 1.
[8] Id.
[9] H.B. 134, Sess. 2025 (N.C.).
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] H.B. 135, Sess. 2025 (N.C.).
[13] HB 134: Prohibit Misbranding of Certain Food Products., UNC School of Government: Legislative Reporting Service, https://lrs.sog.unc.edu/bill/prohibit-misbranding-certain-food-products (last visited Mar. 27, 2026); House Bill 134, North Carolina General Assembly: Bill Lookup, https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/H134 (last visited Mar. 27, 2026).
[14] HB 135: Misbranding/ Cell-Cultured Meat/ Env. Assess., UNC School of Government: Legislative Reporting Service, https://lrs.sog.unc.edu/bill/misbrandingcell-cultured-meatenv-assess (last visited Mar. 27, 2026).
[15] Id.
[16] House Commerce and Economic Development: Document Search, North Carolina General Assembly, https://www.ncleg.gov/Search/Documents/455 (last visited Mar. 27, 2026).
[17] 2025 Bill Text NC H.B. 134, Lexis+, https://plus.lexis.com/api/permalink/5ff078d6-6a4a-4b76-bd34-481eb6e9574f/?context=1530671 (Mar. 11, 2025).
[18] 2025 Bill Text NC H.B. 135, Lexis+, https://plus.lexis.com/api/permalink/32b5e85e-2d31-44af-9ce2-0f36625f866c/?context=1530671 (Apr. 29, 2025).
[19] Ryan Stevens, Lab-Grown Meat Bans in 2025: Which States Are Restricting Cultivated Meat?, Duane Morris (Apr. 24, 2025), https://statecapitallobbyist.com/food/lab-grown-meat-bans-in-2025-which-states-are-restricting-cultivated-meat/.
[20] Emily Stone et al., Alternative Protein Laws State Compilation, The National Agricultural law Center, https://nationalaglawcenter.org/state-compilations/alternative-protein-laws-state-compilation/ (last visited Mar. 27, 2026); Stevens, supra note 19.
[21] [BELIEVER Meats] “Why We Picked North Carolina For Our 1st US Lab-Grown Meat Factory”, Research Triangle (May 16, 2023), https://researchtriangle.org/news/believer-meats-why-we-picked-north-carolina-for-our-1st-us-lab-grown-meat-factory/.
[22] Id.
[23] Jim Shamp, $123 Believer meats Investment Brings 100 Jobs, Futuristic Cultivated Meat Manufacturing to NC, North Carolina Biotechnology Center (Dec. 6, 2022), https://www.ncbiotech.org/news/123m-believer-meats-investment-brings-100-jobs-futuristic-cultivated-meat-manufacturing-nc/.
[24] Dan Flynn, Factory Producing Cell-Cultured Chicken About to Start Production in North Carolina, Food Safety News, https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2025/11/factory-producing-cell-cultured-chicken-about-to-start-production-in-north-carolina/ (Nov. 5, 2025).
[25] Shamp, supra note 23.
[26] Id.
[27] Id.; Ryan McCarthy, Believer Meats Abruptly Shuts Down Production, MEAT+POULTRY (Dec. 12, 2025), https://www.meatpoultry.com/articles/32855-believer-meats-abruptly-shuts-down-operations.
[28] Elaine Watson, Exclusive: Cultivated Meat Co Believer Meats Sued by Design Build Firm for $34m in Unpaid Bills, Ag Funder News (Dec. 8, 2025), https://agfundernews.com/exclusive-cultivated-meat-co-believer-meats-sued-by-design-build-firm-for-34m-in-unpaid-bills.
[29] Inside the Stunning Collapse of Believer Meats, the $600 Million Lab-Grown Meat Startup, Fast Company (Dec. 17, 2025), https://www.fastcompany.com/91462102/believer-meats-stunning-collapse-600-million-cooling-cultured-meat-industry.
