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** 'Free state' of Florida bans lab-grown meat
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By Matthew Lesh, IEA Director of Public Policy & Communications

I was exasperated to hear this week that Florida has become the first US state to ban lab-grown meat. A major American state well-known for limiting regulatory burdens has chosen to take away consumer choice and stifle innovation.

Even worse, Governor Ron DeSantis’s justification is a conspiracy theory. “Today, Florida is fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish,” he said. Spoiler alert: there is no global elite plan to force anyone to eat anything. The World Economic Forum says plenty of daft things, but they are not about to become a global government.

The other justification, according to Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, is that cultivated meat ‘is in direct opposition to authentic agriculture’. Indeed, it may someday compete with conventional meat. But since when was that reason to ban a product? This is no different from carriage drivers trying to ban the motor vehicle. Humanity progresses by allowing for the displacement of the old with the new.

Last year, the IEA published my paper on cultivated meat, Bangers and Cash: Cutting Red Tape to Put Britain at the Centre of the Cultivated Meat Revolution ([link removed]) .

The paper's purpose was twofold. First, it highlighted the potential of a new innovative product, meat produced in a lab, to alleviate many of the concerns associated with livestock farming. It can help the environment by cutting down on carbon emissions and land use, improve human health by reducing the risk of zoonotic pathogen spillovers creating pandemics, and finally, improve animal welfare by reducing industrial practices.

Second, the paper calls for reform of the ‘novel food regulations’. These were rules introduced by the European Union, originally introduced in the 1990s and retained in the UK since Brexit. I examined how these regulations could prove too slow and cumbersome for a fast-moving industry. There are already serious moves afoot by EU and UK cultivated meat start-ups to relocate to the United States.
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Lab grown meat: UK missing out on Brexit freedoms of humane meat ([link removed])

Matthew Lesh, The Daily Telegraph ([link removed])

This may be an unorthodox topic for an IEA publication. Still, the lessons are consistent with our mission statement: “analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.” Cultivated meat is the exemplar of an innovative technology that has the potential to solve societal challenges.

Markets have immense power, but not when we choose to restrict them, be it because of conspiracy theories, vested interests, or a risk-averse regulatory regime.
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Florida man destroys cultivated meat ([link removed])

Matthew Lesh, CapX ([link removed]) & IEA Blog ([link removed])

The meat of the matter… The ‘free state’ of Florida has launched an assault on liberty, choice, and innovation with its new ban.

Bangers and Cash: Cutting red tape to put Britain at the centre of the cultivated meat revolution ([link removed])

The alternative protein product, produced in vitro using animal cells, can taste the same, look the same and smell the same as conventional meat.
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** Cut interest rates by at least 0.5%, says IEA’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee ([link removed])
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The slowdown in money supply could cause deflation and recession unless the Bank of England changes course
* The Institute of Economic Affairs’ Shadow Monetary Policy Committee ([link removed]) (SMPC) voted to significantly cut the Bank Rate and halt Quantitative Tightening (QT).
* The majority of the SMPC supported an interest rate cut of 0.50 basis points to 4.75%, while one member went further by backing a cut of up to 1.00 basis point to 4.25%.
* A majority also voted to suspend QT, while a minority of members supported scaling back QT.
* The SMPC is concerned that the Bank of England has not responded to the rapid fall in inflation, which is expected to undershoot the 2% target imminently, much sooner than the Bank’s projections.

Press release ([link removed])

Why the Bank of England must cut interest rates ([link removed])

SMPC Chair Andrew Lilico, The Spectator ([link removed]) , The Daily Express ([link removed]) & The Times ([link removed])

Overcorrection… After holding Bank Rate once again, the Bank continues to run the risk of keeping interest rates too high for too long.
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Jeremy Hunt says ‘don’t cut interest rates too soon’ despite overwhelming cries for drop ([link removed])

Economics Fellow Julian Jessop, The Daily Express ([link removed]) , The i ([link removed]) , The Daily Telegraph ([link removed]) , Guido Fakwes ([link removed]) , MSN ([link removed]) , Yahoo! ([link removed]) & The Yorkshire Times ([link removed])

Progress of a kind… The Monetary Policy Committee may have held rates this time, but its members are increasingly sympathetic to a cut.

UK economy exits recession with fastest growth in two years ([link removed])

Julian Jessop, The Times ([link removed])

‘Going gangbusters’… News that the UK economy has exited recession is welcome, but 0.6% growth isn’t much to celebrate.
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IEA Latest.
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The Conservative love affair with petty prohibitionism ([link removed])

Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon, The Critic ([link removed])

In search of problems… The governments of the past 14 years have been defined by a compulsive need to interfere in the day-to-day decisions of individuals whilst shirking the country’s big challenges.
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** UK Immigration: Economic Burden or Benefit? ([link removed])
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Matthew Lesh interviews Communications Officer Harrison Griffiths, IEA YouTube ([link removed])

Migration nation… New research this week claimed to counter the economic consensus in favour of immigration. But does it stand up to scrutiny?

Harrison also critiqued the new study on the IEA Blog ([link removed]) .
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Britain was not built on slavery and imperialism ([link removed])

Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz, The Critic ([link removed])

Convenient myths… As Kristian’s latest research argues, colonialism and slavery were not the catalysts for Britain’s economic success.

Read Imperial Measurement: A Cost–Benefit Analysis of Western Colonialism ([link removed]) .
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The Debate: Should we ban smartphones for children? ([link removed])

Harrison Griffiths, City AM ([link removed])

State overreach… The people best positioned to ensure that children can gain the benefits of smartphones while minimising the harms are parents.
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** No more powers for global health nannies ([link removed])
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Christopher Snowdon, GB News ([link removed])

WHO decides?… The government has refused to sign the new proposed global pandemic treaty.
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Labour plots new net zero crackdown on corporates ([link removed])

Energy Analyst Andy Mayer, The Daily Telegraph ([link removed])

All-consuming… Further extending net zero mandates to the private sector is likely to undermine the UK’s competitiveness.

IEA Insider.


** IEA In Conversation with Professor Simon Heffer ([link removed])
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Join us for our next In Conversation… Executive Director Tom Clougherty will sit down with historian, journalist, and political commentator Simon Heffer.

Date: Thursday 16th May

Time: 17:30 - 19:30

Location: 2 Lord North Street, SW1P 3LB
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RSVP ([link removed])


** Camp Vinson ([link removed]) 2024
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The IEA, Vinson Centre, and Institute of International Monetary Research are offering a residential programme at the Vinson Centre, University of Buckingham.

The programme, targeted at undergraduates interested in classical liberalism, includes a series of lectures, seminars, debates, discussions, and social activities.

Dates: 17th - 21st June 2024

Location: Vinson Centre, University of Buckingham
Apply for Camp Vinson ([link removed])


** Applications for Freedom Week 2024 are OPEN! ([link removed])
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Freedom Week is an annual, one-week seminar which teaches students about classical liberal, free market, neoliberal and liberal perspectives on economics, politics, history and society. It is open to over-18s who are currently attending or about to start university. The week is entirely free to attend: there is no charge whatsoever for accommodation, food, tuition or materials.

Dates: 19th - 23rd August 2024

Location: Cambridge
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Apply for Freedom Week ([link removed])
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