Latest news with #Kolbeck
National Observer
09-07-2025
- Business
- National Observer
Want to try lab-grown salmon? The US just approved it.
This story was originally published by Grist and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration For the first time ever, a lab-grown seafood company has met the United States Food and Drug Administration's requirements for demonstrating the safety of a new cell-cultured product. Wildtype's cultivated salmon is now for sale in Portland, Oregon. This marks the first time that lab-grown seafood (also known as 'cultivated seafood' or 'cell-cultured seafood') is available for sale anywhere in the world, according to the Good Food Institute, a think tank that advocates for alternative proteins — substitutes for conventional meat made without relying on industrial animal agriculture. It's a major milestone for the emerging cultivated protein industry, which aims to deliver real meat and seafood at scale without replicating the environmental harms of large-scale livestock operations. It's also a sign that the Food and Drug Administration under the second Trump administration is allowing the regulatory process around lab-grown meat to continue without political interference, despite widespread Republican skepticism of the technology. Wildtype, which manufactures sushi-grade salmon by cultivating fish cells under laboratory conditions, is the fourth cultivated protein company to receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, to sell its product in the US. The company first reached out to the FDA to discuss the safety of its cultivated salmon during the first Trump administration in 2019, said co-founder and CEO Justin Kolbeck, adding that Wildtype underwent eight rounds of questioning from the agency over the next six years. Kolbeck described the experience as 'a science-driven, data-driven process' and said the team of regulators working with Wildtype stayed largely the same across the three presidential terms. 'Did it feel like a long time in the lifespan of an early-stage startup? Yes,' said Kolbeck. 'But it is completely appropriate, in my opinion. And the reason is that this is a new way to make food. And I think consumers have a right to feel like our food authorities turned over every stone that they can think of.' In a letter to the company, the FDA stated that it had 'no questions' about Wildtype's conclusion that its cell-cultivated salmon is 'as safe as comparable foods produced by other methods.' However, the agency did add that if Wildtype's manufacturing processes change, it should contact the FDA again for further consultation. The FDA did not respond to Grist's request for comment. The company is now partnering with Kann, a Haitian restaurant in Portland helmed by the James Beard Award-winning chef Gregory Gourdet. The restaurant began serving Wildtype's salmon weekly on Thursdays this month; in July, the fish will be on the menu full-time. Kolbeck said that Kann sold out of all its cultivated salmon portions on the first night of service. 'I don't think people saw this as some crazy, wild new thing,' he said. Instead, it was 'another option on the menu, which is ultimately what we're working for. We want to provide consumers with another option for seafood.' Consumers have an increasing number of choices for alternative proteins at grocery stores and restaurants — from plant-based burgers and chicken nuggets to faux meat made from fermented fungi. Like other alternative protein companies, cultivated protein brands often position their means of production as more sustainable than animal agriculture, the leading source of methane emissions in the US. But cultivated meat differs from other alternative proteins in that it's not vegan; it is meat, just without the mass animal slaughter. Even though federal regulators have approved only a handful of these products for sale, there has been growing political backlash to cultivated meat. Last month, three states with Republican-led legislatures enacted bills banning or temporarily banning the sale of such products: Nebraska, Montana, and Indiana. They join three other states with similar bans: Mississippi, where a law prohibiting cultivated meat sales unanimously passed in both the state House and Senate earlier this year; Alabama; and Florida. The governors of these states have framed these laws as necessary to protect consumers from 'fake meat' (as the Nebraska governor's office puts it) and ranchers from unfair competition in the marketplace. This posture casts doubt not just on the safety of cultivated foods, but also their legitimacy as meat. The Montana bill defines cultivated meat as 'the concept of meat … rather than from a whole slaughtered animal.' However, recent outcry from ranchers suggests these state officials do not speak for all agricultural producers and consumers; in Nebraska, for example, ranchers have welcomed competition from cultivated protein companies. Madeline Cohen, who heads the regulatory team at the Good Food Institute, argued these states are sacrificing a chance to create jobs and tax revenue. 'There are a small number of states that have chosen to put political wins over consumer choice and over our general free market system,' said Cohen. 'And they will now kind of be sitting on the sidelines, and they will miss out on economic opportunities.' But Kolbeck and other proponents argue that biotechnology is needed to meet the rising demand for meat and seafood without depleting the world's natural resources. Both overfishing — which happens when wild fish are harvested at a rate faster than they can reproduce — and warming temperatures pose risks to global food security. Research has shown that climate change has already impacted fish and shellfish populations around the world. Fish farms are an increasingly common alternative to wild fisheries, but these energy-intensive operations can pollute waterways. Kolbeck framed cultivated salmon as a way to reduce the food system's impact on aquatic ecosystems, protecting them for 'future generations so that people can continue to fish sustainably.' 'How do we take a little bit of pressure off of wild fish stocks and keep these places beautiful?' he said, referring to areas like Bristol Bay in Alaska, where the world's largest sockeye salmon fishery is located. Suzi Gerber, head of the Association for Meat, Poultry, and Seafood Innovation, or AMPS, a cultivated protein trade group, expressed optimism about the industry's future. She noted that Trump recently released an executive order calling to boost US seafood production. 'The timing is perfect,' said Gerber. 'Wildtype and other seafood producing members of AMPS are very happy to answer this call and to ensure a bright future for American seafood alongside our agricultural colleagues in aquaculture, wild, and farmed fisheries.' Eric Schulze, an independent consultant for cultivated meat companies and a former federal regulator, said that the FDA's thumbs-up to Wildtype should put Americans' mind at ease about cultivated meat. 'The US produces some of the safest food in the world — conventional and cultivated — and this clearance only elevates food safety and enhances consumer choice,' said Schulze. 'Everyone wins.'
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First Post
03-07-2025
- Business
- First Post
A US restaurant is serving lab-grown salmon, will you have it?
A Haitian restaurant in the US is serving fresh Coho salmon from a lab in San Fransico with pickled strawberries and spiced tomatoes alongside rice crackers. It features all the attributes of a fish; the pinkish-orange colour and white fat lines striped along the steak read more Imagine taking a hearty bite of the most sumptuous salmon you have ever seen at a fancy restaurant. But what if we tell you the feast on your plate was not caught from the sea and was grown in a laboratory? A Haitian restaurant in the US is serving fresh Coho salmon from a lab in San Fransico with pickled strawberries and spiced tomatoes alongside rice crackers. It features all the attributes of a fish; the pinkish-orange colour and white fat lines striped along the steak. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The restaurant, Kann in Portland, Oregon, has added the dish to its menu after the lab-grown fish became the first cell-cultured seafood to be greenlit by the US Food and Drug Administration. The approval of the salmon, developed by California-based Wildtype, marks a major milestone for the alternative protein industry. This sector has been striving to create substitutes for conventional meat and seafood that can help address rising global food demand while reducing environmental and climate impacts. Wildtype co-founder, Justin Kolbeck, told the Washington Post, 'We're not looking to put fishermen out of business, we are not looking to eliminate the need for fish farming. The amount of seafood that is currently in demand, and where it's projected to go, are so high we actually need all of the production that we're doing from those other tools, plus ours, plus maybe some help from the plant-based world, to be able to meet that demand.' How is the fish grown in lab? Producing animal-based food in the lab is not a new concept. While chicken and other proteins can be easily grown from plants or fermentation, the cultivation of seafood is done by using animal cells. Wildtype uses cells collected from Pacific salmon, following which they are grown in big steel tanks and fed with a mix of nutrients like amino acids, vitamins, salts, sugars, proteins and fats. Explaining the process of cultivation, Kolbeck said that the cells are first rinsed in a centrifuge, then moved to a commercial kitchen, where they're blended with plant-based ingredients to add structure, shape, and additional nutritional value. The entire exercise takes approximately two weeks to create a 220-gram, uniformly cut block of fish. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What about lab-grown meats? Lab-grown meats have already made it to American planes, as the US Department of Agriculture approved two companies, Upside Foods and Good Meat, to sell them in 2023. With the approvals, the United States became the second country after Singapore to allow the sale of so-called cultivated meat, which is derived from a sample of livestock cells that are fed and grown in steel vats. Cultivated meat companies hope their products will provide an appealing alternative for meat eaters looking for a more environmentally friendly and humane option for their cuts, and who may be unsatisfied with vegetarian products already on the market.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers debate gutted HB 1025 as bill limps to Monday
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Amended and killed, but very much still alive. At least for now. That's the present reality of House Bill 1025 in Pierre. When Friday began, the legislation would have appropriated money to build a new men's prison in Lincoln County. But Republican Jack Kolbeck's amendment transformed HB 1025; now, it would only transfer $148 million to the incarceration construction fund. 37 House lawmakers supported the amendment while 32 were in opposition and one was excused when the full House of Representatives considered the bill Friday afternoon. House defeats bill for new men's prison 'After we transfer this money, we will have roughly $790.1 million available for the prison project, but we have separated the funding, we have separated the funding, from the construction while we analyze and discuss the overall project,' said Kolbeck, who voted for the amended legislation. After the amendment was adopted, the legislation only needed a simple majority to pass since it was no longer an appropriations bill. 'As far as funding, we're not committing the funding today,' said Republican William Shorma, who voted for the amended legislation. 'We are giving ourselves the flexibility to do whatever we think is the right thing to do when we get done debating this in a day or two or three or four.' The money involved in the ongoing conversation was front and center as lawmakers made their arguments. 'Can we as South Dakota citizens at this point in time afford an $825 million prison that does include the cost of the roads, I might add,' said Republican Karla Lems, who voted against the amended legislation. 'I can maybe think of three people in my community that want this thing south of Harrisburg,' said Republican Aaron Aylward, who voted against the amended legislation. 'And their mind may have changed right now. I guess the other thing I'll touch on is the financial piece of it, which I think we'll probably hear more about, but this year's been tight. We can't afford it.' 'No one wants to build a prison. No one wants to spend the money,' said Republican Mary Fitzgerald, who voted for the amended legislation. 'But I'm sorry. People continue to hurt other people. We need to put people away to protect the public.' And just how badly a new facility is warranted also had legislators' attention. 'This prison is a need. It's not a want,' said Republican Will Mortenson, who voted for the amended legislation. 'But I would tell you it's an unwanted need. I would much rather be spending this money improving educational attainment of our kids.' 'Do we need a new prison? Yes, we need a new prison, but do we need that big of a prison? Do we need all those rooms? And if we do, we need to start asking ourselves why do we need all those rooms,' said Democrat Peri Pourier, who voted against the amended legislation. 'Can we acknowledge the rate that poverty feeds into crime that feeds into prisons.' 'A prison isn't going to help anybody in my county. It's just not,' said Republican Liz May, who voted against the amended legislation. 'Matter of fact, it's probably going to be devastating. We need to concentrate more on rehabilitation.' 'We're talking about probably the hardest decision we'll have to make as legislators because we have a responsibility to take care of the state and the people in it,' said Democrat Erik Muckey, who voted against the amended legislation. 'And we also have a responsibility to ensure that we're talking about these opportunities to talk about how do we keep people out of these prisons.' 'It's the responsible thing to do today, to put that money aside, and make sure that it's used for this purpose,' said Republican Taylor Rehfeldt, who voted for the amended legislation. 'I urge your vote green.' In the end, not enough legislators voted green. Only 34 supported the amended HB 1025 on Friday afternoon, with 35 against and one excused. But with Rehfeldt's motion to reconsider, it survives until at least Monday. The legislation will need a simple majority of House lawmakers' support to advance to the Senate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
South Dakota House kills Lincoln County prison funding bill despite compromise
PIERRE — A hotly debated funding bill that would transfer most of the last batch of money needed to pay for a new men's prison in South Dakota has narrowly failed in the state House. Lawmakers voted 34-35 Friday, rejecting a House bill that would have moved about $148 million from the state's general fund to an incarceration construction fund. Previous coverage: Could the new SD prison be built without $182M appropriation? 'Absolutely,' lawmakers say Newly-appointed Rep. Jack Kolbeck, R-Sioux Falls, moved an amendment removing the appropriation language from the bill. While appropriation bills require a two-thirds majority to pass each chamber, Kolbeck's bill only needed a 36-member majority to survive. The 320-acre, 1,500-bed facility would be located on old Lincoln County farmland south of Harrisburg, near 477th Avenue and 277th Street. But what was, on paper, a bill centered on whether to move money into an account to fund the facility's construction spawned an emotional debate about the legislature's role in criminal justice and fiscal responsibility. Kolbeck told his fellow House lawmakers he has heard "a lot of people say we need to build a new prison," while acknowledging the heartburn over the final price tag. The amendment, Kolbeck said, would allow the discussion on the prison to continue. "This has been a long discussion for the last many months," Kolbeck added. "Many months that I know, for some of you, it's been a tough decision, and I know for some of you it's not been a tough decision." Democrat Rep. Erik Muckey voted "yes" along with most of the House Democrats, though the Sioux Falls lawmaker told the Argus Leader after the Friday vote he had "every reason to vote 'no.'" "You have stakeholders in Lincoln County that, in my view, have gone through a process that was unfair. The inmates that need a safer site, same for the site as well … but you also have a really big problem in South Dakota with our sentencing policies," Muckey said. "Voting 'yes' today functionally transfers funds, but it may send a message to somebody that we're placing one of those three things above others." Muckey said he ultimately voted for the bill's passage, because transferring the money, as opposed to making a true appropriation, would have "preserved options for the future." "Whatever the site or selection may be … we may be able to move forward with the project," Muckey said. "The other reason why I voted 'yes' was, in the balancing act right now, I am wanting to make sure we transfer funds, or choosing to transfer funds sends a message to our staff and for the inmates families that we are looking at a facility that's safer for them." Rep. Peri Pourier of Rapid City was the sole House Democrat to reject the proposed amendment. Pourier told the Argus Leader after the measure died that she doesn't necessarily believe the state doesn't need an updated prison. But the fourth-term representative's rejection of the measure, she told the Argus Leader, stemmed from what she viewed as the state's lack of rehabilitation and prison aftercare funding. In an impassioned speech on the floor, Pourier related a litany of issues she believes the state is not prioritizing and the legislature is not addressing. "Can we acknowledge that we have felony ingestion on the books?" Pourier asked. "Can we acknowledge the lack of mental health facilities?" There's also a message behind the $825 million prison purchase that Pourier interpreted negatively. "This is largest purchase … that we're going to see in our lifetime," Pourier said. "That prison's built for 100 years. My grandchildren, what are they going to say about us, when you have the money [and] you invest it in prisons?" South Dakota Department of Corrections officials and Gov. Larry Rhoden have claimed a delay in meeting the prison's 2025 funding goal could cost the state upwards of $40 million in inflationary costs the next legislative go-around. Which is why Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, R-Sioux Falls, called on her fellow House members to make a "fiscally responsible decision." "I think we can all recognize that this prison is going to be expensive regardless of where it's located," Rehfeldt said. "What are we going to spend this money on if we don't spend it on this? I couldn't think of a better thing we could spend this on." Speaker Pro Tempore Karla Lems was among the batch of populist Republicans who weren't keen on the transfer. Lems, who is in her second term, criticized the DOC's planned prison project by pointing to "unanswered questions" surrounding "plan A" — the Lincoln County site. Her heartburn was largely focused on the affordability of the project, which has other costs that are not directly wrapped up in the $825 million price tag. That includes the $55.4 million annual cost for operations and personnel services — $21.6 million more than the South Dakota State Penitentiary, which the new site would replace. There's also the cost of paving gravel roads around the prison property that's not included in the final figure, Lems noted. And the state may need to pull from a $24 million fund to cover change orders to the original site plan. The Canton Republican also pointed to other states which are planning to build new prisons at a fraction of the cost or at a more affordable rate. A proposed prison in Nebraska is projected at $350 million, according to a local TV outlet. That's a per-bed price of $231,000, less than half of South Dakota's counterpart at $546,000. Alabama, too, is also building a $1.25 billion, 4,000-bed prison facility with minimum, medium and maximum security areas, as well as specific cells for mental and medical health holds, according to the Associated Press. That's about $312,500 per bed. "To me, this whole prison project … I have an acronym for it: CPR," Lems said. "It's on life support." Fort Pierre Republican Rep. Will Mortenson sympathized with opponents to the bill, saying Friday he would much rather spend the prison dollars in the education sector and on hunting opportunities. Mortenson, formerly the majority leader of the House, characterized the new prison as "a need, not a want." "It's an unwanted need," Mortenson acknowledged. "[But] we have the money now, and it is fiscally conservative to set it aside in a fund … rather than go blow it on pet projects." Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt gave notice of intent to reconsider, meaning the bill could return to the House with some compromises. Tuesday is the deadline for the bill to pass out of the House. "How much does a life cost? Does it cost a dollar? Does it cost $5 billion?" Kolbeck asked. "That life costs your heart. That's what that costs." More: What you should know about crime/public safety bills in South Dakota's legislature now This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Lincoln County prison funding bill fails in South Dakota House
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What's next, now that prison bill has failed?
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota House of Representatives will reconsider the governor's prison bill on Monday. That's according to House Speaker Jon Hansen. House defeats bill for new men's prison Republican Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt requested reconsideration after an amended version of House Bill 1025 failed Friday on a 34-35 vote. Hansen said a legislative rule* requires that when reconsideration is requested, it must come on the following legislative day. KELOLAND News has requested a response from Gov. Larry Rhoden's office and the state Department of Corrections about the defeat and what is planned next. The governor's press secretary, Josie Harms, stated, 'We look forward to continuing the conversation.' All four of the Republicans' top leadership in the House — Speaker Hansen, Speaker Pro Tem Karla Lems, majority leader Scott Odenbach and assistant majority leader Marty Overweg — voted no. So did 14 of the Republicans who are serving their first year in the Legislature. Former Gov. Kristi Noem proposed the prison and that it be located in Lincoln County. Rhoden, who was Noem's lieutenant governor, inherited the project when he became governor last month. He has told reporters there was 'no option for failure' on the plan. Republican Rep. Jack Kolbeck amended HB 1025 on Friday. The amendment removed all of the references to a new men's prison in Lincoln County and left only language transferring $148 million from state government's general fund to the incarceration construction fund. Kolbeck said the purpose of the amendment was only to move the funding. He said the location could be decided later. * Rule 5-11.1 states, 'Motions to reconsider. Having given notice of intent to reconsider, the member giving notice may move to reconsider the question not later than the next legislative day, except as provided in Joint Rule 5-13. Any motion to reconsider shall be made under order of business No. 8, except as provided in Joint Rule 5-13, and takes precedence over all other motions except to recess or to adjourn. No motion to reconsider the same question may be made twice in the same house without unanimous consent. Every motion to reconsider shall be decided by a majority vote of the members-elect on a roll call vote. No question may be reconsidered except the final disposition of bills and joint resolutions and the override of vetoes. No motion to lay on the table is subject to reconsideration. If a motion to reconsider a questionis approved, the question shall be immediately reconsidered unless there is a motion to defer.' Tuesday is the final day for the House to take initial action on a House bill. Hansen said some legislators became aware of Kolbeck's amendment on Thursday night. It was officially posted on the Legislature's website Friday morning. Some House members weren't aware of it however until the noon-hour Republican caucus on Friday, according to Hansen. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
