---
title: SB 415. Advertising and Sale of Meat; prohibit any person from producing, selling, trading, distributing for human consumption any lab-grown meat
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb415
cite_as: SB 415, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb415
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb415.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb415/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72292
date: 2026-01-27
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb415.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 415
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-16
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Jason T. Dickerson
- Russ Goodman
- Drew Echols
- Sam Watson
- Lee Anderson
- Carden Summers
- Max Burns
- Larry Walker
- Bo Hatchett
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB415/2025
upstream_id: 2085224
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- lab-grown meat
- food regulation
- agriculture
- meat sales law
- cultivated meat ban
---
# SB 415. Advertising and Sale of Meat; prohibit any person from producing, selling, trading, distributing for human consumption any lab-grown meat
## Text
Senate Bill 415
By: Senators Dickerson of the 21st, Goodman of the 8th, Echols of the 49th, Watson of the
11th, Anderson of the 24th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 4 of Chapter 2 of Title 26 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to advertising and sale of meat generally, so as to prohibit any person from
producing, selling, trading, distributing, or offering to produce, sell, trade, or distribute for
human consumption any lab-grown meat; to provide for definitions; to provide for related
matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 4 of Chapter 2 of Title 26 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
advertising and sale of meat generally, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"26-2-162.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Animal' means any animal, including, but not limited to, cattle, swine, sheep, goats,
fish, and poultry, including eggs. Such term shall include game animals, as defined in
Code Section 27-1-2.
(2) 'Lab-grown meat' means any food product that is produced, wholly or in part, by
artificially growing the cell cultures of animal muscle or organ tissues.
(b) No person shall produce, sell, trade, distribute, or offer to produce, sell, trade, or
distribute for human consumption any lab-grown meat."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia Senate bill would make it illegal to produce, sell, trade, or distribute lab-grown meat for people to eat, adding a new ban to the state's meat sale laws.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia currently regulates how meat is advertised and sold under Article 4 of Chapter 2 of Title 26 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, but it does not specifically address meat grown from animal cell cultures in a lab rather than raised as livestock. This bill adds a new section, O.C.G.A. § 26-2-162, to that law.
The bill defines 'animal' broadly to include cattle, swine, sheep, goats, fish, poultry (including eggs), and game animals as defined elsewhere in Georgia law. It defines 'lab-grown meat' as any food product made wholly or partly by artificially growing cell cultures of animal muscle or organ tissue. With those definitions in place, the bill makes it illegal for any person to produce, sell, trade, distribute, or even offer to do any of those things with lab-grown meat intended for human consumption. The bill does not list a specific effective date beyond the standard process, and it repeals any conflicting Georgia laws.
### What it does
- Adds a new Code section, O.C.G.A. § 26-2-162, banning the production, sale, trade, or distribution of lab-grown meat for human consumption in Georgia.
- Also bans merely offering to produce, sell, trade, or distribute lab-grown meat for human consumption, not just completing the transaction.
- Defines 'lab-grown meat' as a food product made wholly or partly by artificially growing animal muscle or organ cell cultures.
- Defines 'animal' broadly to cover cattle, swine, sheep, goats, fish, poultry and eggs, and game animals as defined in Georgia's game and fish laws.
- Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with this new ban.
### Who it affects
Any company or person that produces, markets, or sells lab-grown or cultivated meat products in Georgia, grocery stores and restaurants that might carry such products, and Georgia consumers who might otherwise be able to buy lab-grown meat in the state.
### Why it matters
If enacted, lab-grown meat products, an emerging food technology grown from animal cells rather than raised livestock, could not legally be produced, sold, or distributed in Georgia for people to eat, even on an offer-to-sell basis, closing off that market to producers and consumers in the state.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code section 26-2-162 to Article 4 of Chapter 2 of Title 26 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, which governs meat advertising and sale.
- Subsection (a)(1) defines 'animal' to include livestock, poultry, eggs, fish, and game animals as defined in O.C.G.A. § 27-1-2.
- Subsection (a)(2) defines 'lab-grown meat' as any food product made wholly or partly by artificially growing animal muscle or organ cell cultures.
- Subsection (b) prohibits producing, selling, trading, distributing, or offering to do any of those things with lab-grown meat for human consumption.
- Section 2 repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with this new provision.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-01-16)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-01-27)
- Sponsors: Jason T. Dickerson, Russ Goodman, Drew Echols, Sam Watson, Lee Anderson, Carden Summers, Max Burns, Larry Walker, Bo Hatchett
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72292
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb415.md?full=1