The lower house of the Italian parliament has given final approval for a law banning the use of lab-grown food and animal feed, as angry farmers clashed with a group of centrist lawmakers opposing the bill, European Supermarket Magazine reports.

Total Ban

The proposal, already approved by the upper house Senate, was passed with 159 votes in favor to 53 against, banning the use, sale, import, and export of food and feed "from cell cultures or tissue derived from vertebrate animals."

Factories violating such rules could face fines of up to €150,000 (USD 162,700) and risk closure, while owners may lose the right to obtain public funding for up to three years.

The proposal by Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, a close ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, is seen as part of a broader effort by the right-wing coalition to protect tradition.

Street Demonstrations

As the parliamentary debate was underway, tensions erupted between demonstrators from the agricultural lobby group Coldiretti and two opposition lawmakers, one of whom claimed the lobby group's president, Ettore Prandini, assaulted him.

"I think it is subversive for the president of Coldiretti to believe he can attack a lawmaker," said Deputy Benedetto Della Vedova, adding that he would report Prandini to the police. Della Vedova appeared to have been pushed in the chest in the incident but was not injured.

Prandini told Reuters that lawmakers provoked farmers with offensive banners and downplayed the confrontation.

Lab-Grown Foods

The +Europe Party and other opposition groups described the right-wing administration's move as an attempt to appease farmers and breeder lobbies since lab-grown foods are not yet available in the European Union.

Critics of the bill argue that producing meat without reproducing animals would limit greenhouse gas emissions and provide an option for consumers who would appreciate eating a product that does not involve sacrifice.

The opposition warned that the government risks violating EU single market rules by unilaterally banning the product if the bloc ever decides to make lab-grown foods available. Minister Lollobrigida reiterated that the ban is necessary to protect the food industry. (Photo: Freepik)