PETAL, Miss.—Mississippi lawmakers have moved to protect the state’s dairy industry by banning cell-cultured dairy products, but some farmers said the law does little to address the pressures already forcing small farms to close.
House Bill 1153, which takes effect July 1, prohibits the manufacture, sale or offer for sale of cell-cultured dairy products in Mississippi. Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson said the measure is meant to protect farmers and keep lab-made dairy products out of the state before they enter the market.
“We became, with House Bill 1153 this year, the first state in America to outlaw lab-grown dairy products,” Gipson said.
Gipson said state officials view cell-cultured dairy as both an agricultural and public health issue, although he acknowledged there is limited information available about the products.
“We want real food for the real people of Mississippi,” Gipson said.
But for farmers like Jacob Leggett, former owner of Grazing Way Farm in Ellisville, and Ben Simmons, owner of Nature’s Gourmet Farm, the larger concern is not just a new product entering the market. They said small farms have been under strain for years because of regulation, rising costs and limited ways to get products to customers.
Leggett said his raw milk operation had strong customer demand before it shut down.
“We have many people that would come from far and wide to come and buy it,” Leggett said.
He said the closure reflected broader pressure on small producers.
“I think it’s sad,” Leggett said.
Simmons said many community-based farms, especially in smaller towns, have disappeared over time.
“If you drive down this road, you’ll see where there used to be farms that were active, supporting their community, having local food available, whole food, and today there isn’t one of them,” Simmons said.
He said regulation is one of the biggest reasons, adding that it favors large agricultural businesses and makes it difficult for local farms to operate.
“Regulation is what the problem is,” Simmons said.
Simmons said small farmers need a more decentralized food system that allows them to produce, process and sell more of their products locally. He said younger farmers may be discouraged from entering agriculture if they see few opportunities to build viable small operations.
Gipson said the state is also trying to support farmers through broader food-access efforts. His office is working to establish regional food processing hubs where farmers could bring fresh products to be stored frozen, fresh or flash-frozen and later distributed to grocery stores and restaurants.
“That’s probably the most important issue we can address as a state, increasing the availability of abundant, affordable, healthy food throughout every community in Mississippi,” Gipson said.
He said the goal is to make it easier for residents to find fresh food and for local farmers to reach more customers.
“There are some places that it’s just not easy to find,” Gipson said. “We want to break through those barriers and eliminate those food deserts and give people healthy food like real dairy, like real whole milk Mississippi-raised.”
Farmers said protecting dairy will take more than banning a new category of product. They said long-term support will depend on policies that help small farms stay open, reach more customers and remain financially sustainable.
This article first appeared on RHCJC and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
