Law honoring Cottonwood rancher requires labeling of lab-grown meat

Where’s the beef? A new Arizona law says that if it came from cultivated cells rather than slaughtered livestock, the package will have to say so.

The “Andy Groseta Act,” House Bill 2762, was signed into law by Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs [D] on June 19. It passed in the House 52-3-5 on Feb. 24 and 24-5-1 in the Senate on June 9.

“Arizona consumers deserve honesty at the grocery store, and Arizona ranchers deserve a fair market,” said Arizona Rep. Quang Nguyen [R-District 1], the bill’s cosponsor. “This law does not ban anything. It simply says that if a product is grown from cells in a lab, the package has to say so. Clear labels protect consumers, respect Arizona agriculture and make sure the package tells the truth.”

The law is named to honor Cottonwood rancher Andy Groseta, former president of both the Yavapai Cattle Growers’ Association and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, who died July 22, 2025, at age 74 from pancreatic cancer.

“The manufacturer, packager or retailer of a food product that is derived from cultivated cells shall place a label on the food product’s packaging stating either ‘cell-cultivated’ or ‘cell-cultured,'” the bill reads, but does not cite penalties if the labeling is not done or how it will be enforced.

Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture issued the first-ever approvals for cell-cultivated chicken in 2023, states have responded differently, with Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska and Texas all passing bans of varying degrees on the sale of lab-grown meat, with Texas barring it for two years as of September.

Legislation governing the sale and labeling of cultivated meat affects a product category that remains largely unavailable to consumers. According to the nonprofit Good Food Institute, only seven companies worldwide have received regulatory clearance to sell cultivated meat products. In the United States, Mission Barns has introduced cultivated pork products and Wildtype has launched cultivated salmon at select restaurants, while Believer Meats has received authorization to sell cultivated chicken. Additionally, no companies are currently authorized to sell cultivated beef products in the United States.

“We’re thrilled,” Rep. Selina Bliss [R-District 1] said. “I was with [Groseta] at the Yavapai Cattle Growers’ annual calf sale and barbecue down at Peeples Valley when the National Cattlemen’s president came from out of state. This was three years ago, and when [Groseta] introduced us to the importance of this. So I’m just really glad to get it across the finish line.”