A federal judge rejected a request by a California-based company for a preliminary injunction against a Florida law banning lab-grown meat. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation making it a second-degree misdemeanor to produce or sell lab-grown meat in the Sunshine State. UPSIDE Foods, which manufactures cultivated chicken, filed a lawsuit against Florida in August. Federal Judge Upholds Florida Ban on Lab-Grown Meat, as Other States Propose Similar Bans “The dangers of cultivated meat far outweigh any misleading environmental claims. Floridians will not be lectured by billionaires like Bill Gates on how to feed their families.”… pic.twitter.com/Y2iSHXtwal — Children’s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) October 24, 2024 “We are not surprised by the judge’s rejection of Upside’s preliminary injunction,” Florida Sen. Jay Collins told The Defender. “The dangers of cultivated meat far outweigh any misleading environmental claims. Floridians will not be lectured by billionaires like Bill Gates on how to feed their families,” Collins added. In its lawsuit, UPSIDE Foods alleged the ban is unconstitutional and violates a federal law that preempts Florida from imposing it. The Defender reports: A preliminary injunction is typically issued in a lawsuit if the court finds the plaintiff has a good chance of winning its case — a “substantial likelihood of success on the merits,” However, Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker said Upside’s argument, which boiled down to “if it’s a poultry product, states can’t ban it,” was insufficient. Just because a product falls within the scope of the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act and is under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) regulatory authority does not mean a state is “expressly preempted from banning the sale of that particular kind of poultry product,” Walker wrote. Upside argued that the ban imposed ingredient and manufacturing requirements that clashed with provisions of the Poultry Products Inspection Act. However, Walker said Upside was unable to identify any federal law or regulation that created an “ingredient requirement” for cultivated meat. He also said that because the company didn’t produce its lab-grown meat in Florida, the manufacturing ban didn’t affect its premises, operations or facilities. The ruling means the ban will remain in place while the lawsuit challenging its legality moves through the courts. The Florida law went into effect on July 1st. BREAKING: New law in Florida to place a ban on lab-grown meat will take effect on Monday, July 1st. pic.twitter.com/pveG8CEiSw — The General (@GeneralMCNews) June 29, 2024 “Florida’s outlawing of lab-grown meat is a major win for public health and local supply chains, argues AG Commissioner @WiltonSimpson,” Florida’s Voice wrote. WATCH: WATCH: Florida's outlawing of lab-grown meat is a major win for public health and local supply chains, argues AG Commissioner @WiltonSimpson pic.twitter.com/Mjz5U4Z0dU — Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) October 24, 2024 Per CBS News: Walker wrote that the company argues that the “ban imposes an inconsistent ‘ingredient requirement’ by prohibiting the sale or distribution of food products that contain cultivated chicken meat as an ingredient.” But he wrote the company could not identify a law or regulation “that creates a federal ‘ingredient requirement’ with respect to ‘cultivated meat.'” The denial of the preliminary injunction does not end the lawsuit. In supporting the ban, state officials have pointed to questions about the safety of cultivated meat. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture last year approved UPSIDE to manufacture and sell its products.