The Hungarian parliament has passed a law banning cell-cultivated meat.
The motion, which passed with 140 in support, 10 against and 18 abstentions, applies to products made from animal cells or tissue under artificial conditions, outside a living organism.
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The prohibition does not include vegan faux meat made from plant proteins such as soy, peas, or wheat, water, and additives.
Medical and veterinary use are exemptions from the ban.
Hungary raised concerns about cell-based meat when it held the European Council Presidency last year, arguing meat and dairy consumption is an important part of the “European way of life”.
Hungary’s Ministry of Agriculture first presented its plans to ban the production and distribution of lab-grown meat last year.
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By GlobalDataIn March, Hungary’s Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén submitted the bill to parliament with the endorsement of the Minister of Agriculture, István Nagy.
The agricultural body claims there are several unanswered questions and concerns about the consumption of cell-based meat and considers the products unsafe. Semjén’s bill also argued that food technology that deflects from “traditional” methodologies can threaten “our values”.
According to Telex, a Hungarian news publication, the ministry also claims cell-based meat has a “large ecological footprint and increases social inequalities”.
A statement from non-profit The Good Food Institute criticised Hungary’s move. “The government has presented no risk assessments or safety data showing cultivated meat threatens human or planetary health – relying instead on unfounded fears and protectionist arguments,” GFI said.
“This decision sets a dangerous precedent where fear and politics override objective debate, science, and innovation. It drives needless polarisation and undermines urgent progress towards a more sustainable food system.”
Last year, Hungary also supported a letter written by officials in Austria, Italy and France to the EU Council of Ministers that described the cell-based meat industry as “a threat to primary farm-based approaches”.
Italy banned the production, sale and import of cultivated meat in 2023.
