Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen is fighting to protect his state’s agriculture industry against what he sees as the growing threat of lab-grown or “fake” meat. In a bold move, Pillen signed an executive order barring state agencies from purchasing any lab-grown meat products.

This is one of three initiatives announced Thursday, each with its own way of protecting Nebraska’s traditional meat producers and ensuring that consumers know exactly what they’re buying.

Pillen, who reportedly ran last year on a platform of defending real meat, was direct with his thoughts.

“We’re being proactive and making sure that silly things aren’t happening because they are happening on the coasts. If we sit back and wait until the grocery stores are full, that’s not the way we want to lead,” he stated.

The executive order goes farther than to simply prohibit state agencies from purchasing lab-grown meat; it requires all state contractors to agree not to discriminate against traditional meat products with purchases over lab-grown meat. It now intends to ensure that Nebraska’s meat producers are not discriminated against as the alternative proteins market develops.

But Pillen is not stopping there. He also called for new labeling regulations that will be spearheaded by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. Those would protect consumers from products that look and sound like meat but actually come from a lab.

The State’s Agriculture Director, Sherry Vinton, said any new rules would ensure that whatever is labeled as meat will clearly be different from lab-grown products, much like new laws that were enacted recently in Iowa.

Similar actions have already taken place in the states of Florida, Iowa, and Alabama. In those states, there are outright bans on the production and sale of fake meat, or there are strict labeling requirements so as not to confuse consumers.

Pillen has said he would mount similar legislation in Nebraska during the next legislative session.

The significance of this issue to Nebraska’s economy cannot be overstated. It brings more than $6 billion a year into the state’s livestock industry.

Pillen knows that all too well, as his family owns one of the biggest hog operations in the state. He followed that theme of Nebraska being important both to feed the world and protect the environment at Monday’s signing of the executive order.

“We feed the world, and we save the planet more effectively and more efficiently than anybody else. And I will defend those practices with my last breath,” he stated.

Pillen took to X to announce the initiative, writing, “ak Barn Beef in West Point was the backdrop for today’s announcement of three initiatives aimed at protecting our state’s significant ag economy and consumers from lab-grown meat. I signed the executive order today. Dept. of Ag will draft rules & regs to better label products and ensure they won’t be confused with real meat at the store.”