The Italian Parliament today approved a law banning the production and sale of synthetic foods, such as cultured meat, making Italy the first European country to introduce this measure.
The norm, promoted by the Government of the far-right Giorgia Meloni, argues the inequalities that these foods could cause at a nutritional level and the lack of scientific studies, although the argument causes great controversy among the opposition, which highlights the lack of scientific conclusions that justify its absolute prohibition.
Likewise, those against the law point out that it may contravene the principle of free circulation of goods in the European Union if the marketing of synthetic foods produced in other countries is also prohibited. The law provides that the marketing of this type of food will be fined between 10,000 and 60,000 euros, or 10% of the business volume in the case of income exceeding 60,000 euros.
The debate on the law in the Chamber of Deputies, which has been postponed due to doubts about its fit into European legislation, was accompanied by confrontations outside Parliament between supporters of the norm convened by Coldiretti, the largest association of livestock farmers and farmers of the country, and opponents.
“We want to protect public health and avoid unemployment. There is a risk of social injustice with synthetic foods, with a society in which the rich eat well and the poor do not,” justified the Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, when approving the bill last March. According to Lollobrigida, the intention of the Italian Executive is not “persecutory”, but rather tries to protect “health” and the “environment.”
For his part, the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, argued that the decision has been taken as a way to “safeguard” the country’s agri-food heritage and culture, “based on the Mediterranean diet.”
“The law against synthetic foods is significant: it is based on the precautionary principle because there are currently no scientific studies on its effects. We guarantee the highest level of protection of the health of citizens and the safeguarding of our nation’s heritage” Schillaci noted.
The Meloni Government has already signed four decrees to offer more information to consumers about foods that “are not found in the traditional diet” and that, among other measures, forces supermarkets to separate flours made with insects from the rest of the products. .
