Last week there was an Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee meeting that dealt with a number of bills that could have a very negative effect on the State of Florida.
This included HB 1071, a bill that among many things, would ban cultivated meats from being sold or distributed in Florida. The Republican bill sponsor cites a lack of research despite research on this kind of meat going back to the 1990s and FDA approval. This would also disadvantage the Florida economy as companies that create cultured meat move operations out of the state and other states will be able to secure a comparative advantage. As the cultured meat industry grows, we will be at a severe disadvantage because our state will have forced the industry out. It is important to note that 15% of greenhouse emissions are caused by livestock farms, meaning cultured meat might be needed now more than ever. Banning the sale of cultivated meat would just contribute more of these emissions. The bill makes trying to go green more difficult for restaurants, brands, and companies that would rather use cultivated meats to reduce their total emissions.
There was also HB 1613: Hemp, which would restrict the sale of hemp products in the state of Florida. The bill itself would impose many restrictions on the sale of hemp products to such an extent that many business owners and farmers are afraid of being put out of business. While there are legitimate concerns regarding the dosage of some of these products, the current legislation makes it more difficult for people to get access to products that help them. Many people take hemp products for improved sleep, minor pain relief, and managing nausea. Restricting the sale of these products will drive many of these people to the black market, with less regulation and exposing users to more risks. This bill will also not prevent the creation of other cannabinoids that meet even new legal limitations, exposing that the legislature is being ineffective –seeking to ban cannabinoids when instead they could look at the issue from a more holistic and solution oriented approach that would research effects, positive and negative, and safety of these products– and will have to address the issue again when the adaptive biotechnology industry inevitably develops new isomers of hemp derived products. Not only to mention the intense damage this will have on the hemp industry in Florida. The hemp industry in Florida is worth billions of dollars, with many small businesses existing within it. There are hundreds of stores in the state selling these specialty products, and there are also over a dozen hemp farms in Florida which will be negatively impacted by this bill. That is a lot of tax income the state of Florida is putting in jeopardy. Many of these business owners who have put their time and money into this industry are at risk of losing their business because the restrictions imposed will cost them a significant chunk of their business’ income. This bill risks scaring off the hemp industry from investing more into Florida than it currently has, and we could be scaring off other similar industries from investing in Florida.
We have heard Republicans refer to this state as the Free State of Florida as a way to make it seem like the state is less restrictive with its regulation. However, these bills show how much this does not apply when it comes to economic freedom. These bills hurt two emerging industries that threaten Florida’s established industries. The hemp industry is a competitive industry, and the cultivated meat industry could be in future competition with the traditional meat industry. This snuffing out of competition only does the consumer more harm since competition is what drives innovation and lower prices in a market. It has been long known that competition has always been what is best for the consumer but large corporations are threatened by competition so they lobby to snuff it out early. These bills are coming from the party that often speaks of free markets yet when it comes to these issues they see no problem intervening in the market. In the supposed state of Florida, you will not have as many options for meats or THC as other states because Republicans will have restricted it out of the market. If Florida wants to continue its economic and population growth, it is going to have to stop putting out these bills that just hurt the consumer’s ability to choose. These bills are just a few in a long list of bills pushed by the Republicans that shows how the Free State of Florida is just not always so.