By Todd Epp | South Dakota Broadcasters Association. The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday (Jan. 27, 2026) advanced a bill that would ban the sale of lab-grown meat in South Dakota by defining it as “adulterated food,” setting up a broader debate over food safety, free markets, and the future of the state’s cattle industry. House Bill 1077 passed on a 9–3 vote, sending the measure to the House floor with a do-pass recommendation. The bill would classify “cultivated-protein food products” — meat grown from animal cells in a laboratory — as adulterated under state law, effectively prohibiting their sale in South Dakota. Supporters framed the bill as a food-safety measure and a defense of traditional livestock production. Dr. Jim Stangle, a western South Dakota veterinarian who testified remotely, told lawmakers lab-grown meat relies on artificial systems that lack the biological safeguards of live animals. “A cell culture is not a cow. It does not have a liver. It does not have a kidney. It does not have an immune system,” Stangle said. Opponents did not defend lab-grown meat itself, but argued the bill misuses food-safety law and could backfire on South Dakota producers. Matthew Bogue, a registered lobbyist for the South Dakota Farm Bureau, said Farm Bureau supports clear labeling but opposes banning federally approved products. “If a product is federally approved, as well as going through state channels for the implementation, that a consumer should have that ability to choose whether or not they would like to consume that product” Bogue told the committee. ...read more read less