Synthetic meat, the discussion heats up.For Coldiretti, 3 out of 4 Italians are against it

The Umberto Veronesi Foundation:“The consumption of cultured meat does not pose a risk to human health”

ROME - The discussion on synthetic meat and the bill that intends to ban it in Italy inflames politics. Carried forward by the Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida, the bill is being discussed today in the Chamber of Deputies, where Riccardo Magi of '+Europa' accuses the Meloni government of "obscurantism“.Luca De Carlo (Fdi) replied, specifying that "there is no prohibition or attempt to sabotage the research".Yet on the topic of research the authoritative voice of the senator for life had already been raised Elena Cattaneo, who, in July, had given a speech criticizing the exclusion of scholars for the drafting of the bill.“As a scholar and a senator, I also feel the duty to express my firm opposition to one cultural drift driven by stakeholders in the agri-food world- he added -, who want to prevent new economic players from appearing on their own market, making Italy the world champion of the terror of knowledge“. 

WHAT IS SYNTHETIC MEAT

It is commonly defined as 'synthetic', in reality it would be more correct to call it 'cultivated'.It is a type of meat produced in a laboratory from animal cells. Currently, cultured meat is "a product that comes from animal cells that are taken through a biopsy and grown on a medium, a solution, rich in nutrients - explains the Umberto Veronesi Foundation-.After growth, these stem cells, which did not present any specialization, differentiate into a cell of interest, in this specific case into a muscle cell.These stem cells also differentiate while remaining within the starting organism;Therefore, Not it is in no way modified but proceeds in the physiology of the cell.From the individual cells, put together, a tissue is then formed which will then give rise to what will be the finished product.There research, in recent years, has focused on making this process reproducible on a large scale.The tool that has proven useful in achieving this goal is the bioreactor.A name which, in this case too, is frightening but which in reality was already employed in the production of other foods such as beer and yogurt.The purpose of this instrument is to maintain a controlled temperature that is useful for keeping the cells alive and supplying them with nutrients."

“CULTURED MEAT IS NOT A HEALTH RISK”

The Umberto Veronesi Foundation also specifies that "from the point of view of food safety, the consumption of cultured meat does not represent a risk to human health.In European Union cultured meat is considered a novel food e therefore it must submit to strict controls and regulationsand which regulate the introduction of these foods on our market.

MAGI:“ANTI-CONSTITUTIONAL AND ANTI-ITALIAN DDL”

“Minister Lollobrigida and the Meloni government have issued this obscurantist bill against cultured meat which is a real sabotage for Italian research and for companies intending to open up to the future market of the sector.I invite all colleagues to carefully evaluate the content of this preliminary ruling by voting in favour. This measure is anti-scientific, anti-European and anti-Italian, but also anti-constitutional:prohibit the sale, import, production aimed at export of a product such as cultured meat, in the absence of empirical evidence, which is therefore based on valid and proven scientific data, which demonstrates the contrast between the product and its usefulness social, health, environment, security, freedom or even human dignity, is an unjustified violation of the Constitution", said the secretary of +Europa, Riccardo Magi, speaking in the chamber of the Chamber to illustrate the preliminary ruling on constitutionality presented by +Europa.Magi recalled the 65 varieties created by Nazareno Strampelli, “Italian geneticist so dear to Minister Lollobrigida, called 'chosen species':'Edda', the 'Balilla', the 'Fanfulla', the 'Littorio' and the 'Senatore Cappelli'.The minister should know - added Magi - that even at the time Strampelli was the subject of numerous criticisms, especially coming from the farmers' association he himself founded in the Rieti area, because the new grains were seen as a threat to the 'original Rieti' grain , widespread among all growers and among the most appreciated", he concluded.

DE CARLO TO MAGI:“NO RESEARCH BAN, WE SUPPORT THE TEA”

“Accusing the Meloni Government of obscurantism in the field of food research is one of the biggest mistakes that can be made – replies Fratelli d'Italia senator Luca De Carlo -.Let's start from the fact that in the bill there is no prohibition or attempt to sabotage research, as Magi claims;above all, it makes me smile to think that this "obscurantist" executive is precisely the one who, thanks to an amendment of mine, has finally made experimentation in the field of Assisted Evolution Techniques, a real form of field research to improve production and combat climate change, helping agri-food companies to produce more and better and to deal with damage linked to weather conditions.Citing Nazareno Strampelli, one of the great Italian scholars and the lighthouse who led us to the promotion of TEAs, to attack this executive was definitely a misstep.Magi should rather ask himself why all the governments supported by his party have never even addressed the issue of TEAs".

ACCORDING TO COLDIRETTI 3 ITALIANS 4 SAY NO

Almost 3 out of 4 Italians (74%) say no to synthetic food produced in laboratories, from meat to milk to fish that "financial power groups and multinationals are trying to impose on world markets despite doubts about the long-term effects on human health".This is supported by Coldiretti, who claims to have conducted an investigation with Notosondaggi on the occasion of the demonstration of farmers and breeders who left the countryside and stables to take to the streets on the day of the final vote of the Chamber on bill that introduces a ban on the production and marketing of cell-based foods for food use or animal feed.