Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller Blasts Lab-Grown Meat Ruling: “Texas Will Not Back Down” (1/21/2026)

AUSTIN — Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller today condemned a federal ruling that undermines the state’s recently enacted ban on lab-grown meat, calling it “an assault on Texas ranchers, a gift to Washington elites, and a slap in the face to state sovereignty.”

“This ruling is an assault on the livelihoods of Texas ranchers and impairs Texas's ability to protect its people,” Miller said. “Texas banned lab-grown meat to protect family ranches, preserve honest food labeling, and keep our citizens safe from synthetic products with zero long-term health record. This lawsuit should be thrown out immediately.”

Miller didn’t hold back criticism of powerful industry interests driving the fight. “Let’s be clear: allowing leftist, Bill Gates–backed startups like Wildtype and UPSIDE Foods to bully a democratically passed Texas law in federal court isn’t innovation—it’s an attack on real producers and rural America,” Miller said. “It sends a loud message that Washington bureaucrats and billionaire tech investors matter more than the men and women who actually feed this country.”

The commissioner argued that lab-grown meat poses not only an economic threat but a fundamental danger to consumer trust. “Lab-grown meat isn’t progress—it’s a Trojan horse,” Miller warned. “It threatens rural livelihoods, compromises food safety, and erodes confidence in what Americans put on their plates. Texans don’t want meat grown in a petri dish and marketed by billionaires—they want real beef from real ranchers who raise livestock under time-tested standards.”

“When it comes to America’s food supply, picking winners and losers is exactly what’s at stake—and Texas will always choose its farmers and ranchers,” Miller declared. “We will defend our right to make common-sense decisions about food and public health without federal interference. Texas stands with our ranchers, with our consumers, and with our values. We will not be bullied. We will not back down.”