Frequently asked questions

The REAL Food Act (Regulating Engineered and Altered-food for Life Act) is proposed federal legislation. It would prohibit bioengineered foods, cell-cultured (lab-grown) meat, and shelf-life coatings for human consumption, and reform how the FDA and USDA review new food technologies.

You can read the Executive Summary and policy proposal on the home page.

Not yet. The Act is seeking a sponsor in the U.S. House and Senate. The petition and letters to Congress are how we show members that their constituents want it introduced.

Sign the petition to add your name.

Nic Raven, a small business owner in Greenville, Texas. His message is simple: Farm-Raised, not Lab-Engineered. Read more about Nic.

Under federal rules, a bioengineered food contains detectable genetic material that was modified in a laboratory using recombinant DNA techniques, in a way that could not be achieved through conventional breeding or found in nature.

USDA's current list of bioengineered foods includes alfalfa, Arctic apples, canola, corn, cotton, BARI Bt Begun eggplant, virus-resistant papaya, pink pineapple, potato, AquAdvantage salmon, soybeans, virus-resistant summer squash, sugar beets, and Bt sugarcane.

No. Hybrid seed, heirloom varieties, and crops developed through traditional cross-breeding are not bioengineered foods. The Act targets foods modified in a laboratory at the genetic level.

That is not the Act's argument. The Act's position is that safety should be established by independent, long-term testing before a product reaches the grocery store.

Today, the FDA often relies on safety data supplied by the same company that wants to sell the product. Under the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) process, a company can decide on its own that an ingredient is safe. The REAL Food Act says the burden of proof belongs on independent science, not on the seller.

Cell-cultured chicken and salmon are legal to sell in the United States, and no long-term human safety studies were required before they reached the market.

Texas already agrees. In 2025 the state banned the sale of cell-cultured protein for two years, with strong support from Texas cattle ranchers. That ban expires in September 2027 unless it is extended. The REAL Food Act would make the protection nationwide and permanent.

Some companies now make milk proteins without cows. They insert a cow's milk-protein gene into a fungus or yeast, which then produces the protein in large fermentation tanks. The FDA has allowed these proteins through its GRAS process, which relies on the company's own safety data.

They are already sold in ice cream, cream cheese, and protein powders, usually labeled "animal-free dairy." Because the protein is identical to milk protein, these products must still carry a milk allergy warning, even though no cow was involved.

Federal rules say a product can only be called ice cream if it contains at least 10 percent milkfat. When a carton says "frozen dairy dessert" instead, the maker has usually replaced some of the cream with cheaper ingredients, such as vegetable oils, corn syrup, and extra stabilizers and emulsifiers like mono- and diglycerides, polysorbate 80, and carrageenan.

"Non-dairy frozen dessert" is made without milk, typically from coconut, oat, almond, or soy, and often relies on the same oils, gums, and emulsifiers. Some animal-free dairy brands also use the "frozen dessert" label, because their protein comes from engineered fungi rather than cream. Check the ingredient list, not just the front of the carton.

Shelf-life coatings are thin layers applied to fresh fruits and vegetables after harvest to slow spoilage. They are not easy to wash off, so they are eaten along with the produce.

The most widely used coating, Apeel, reached the market after the FDA accepted the manufacturer's own safety filing. The Act would prohibit these coatings and additives on fresh food.

Partly. The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard requires disclosure, but manufacturers can use a QR code or a text-message option instead of printing plain words on the package. Labels also often fail to say which ingredient is bioengineered.

Labeling puts the burden on shoppers. The Act addresses the food itself.

This is the most important question the Act has to answer well. Most U.S. corn, soybeans, cotton, and sugar beets are grown from bioengineered seed, and those farmers cannot be left holding the cost of a policy change.

If you farm or ranch, I want your input before this bill is final. Contact me.

Ranchers raising conventional cattle are among the Act's strongest natural allies. A permanent ban on lab-grown meat protects traditional animal agriculture from competition by products that never faced long-term safety testing.

Any change to the food supply can affect prices, especially during a transition, and it would be dishonest to promise otherwise.

Sign the petition, then call or write your representative and both of your senators and ask them to sponsor the REAL Food Act. You can look up your representative here.

Farmers, ranchers, food businesses, and organizations that want to be listed as supporters can get in touch.

See the Media page for background, photos, and press contact information.