A bill to ban the sale of lab-grown meat in Tennessee is working its way through the state legislature.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet) and Sen. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon), comes after lawmakers passed a bill last year regulating the lab-grown meat industry by requiring a permit to sell the product and banning it from being called “meat.”

The first lab-grown meat product was released in 2013, and the technology has been evolving ever since. Supporters argue alternative protein is better for animal welfare and the environment.

Plus, production isn’t impacted by challenges like drought or supply chain issues. However, some doctors warn since some of the process to make alternative protein is protected by intellectual property, consuming it could come with unknown risks.

This is edible scaffolding. You make a scaffold, like a strut, and then you apply your immortal cells to it to make it start to look like a fillet mignon if you want to,” Dr. Denise Sibley, an internal medicine physician in Johnson City, testified. “We do not know how each company’s proprietary blend of chemicals and 3D printing of meat or what cells they use — how that’s going to be metabolized. There is no information.”

Lynn told lawmakers seven other states and the country of Italy have already banned lab-grown meat. With the word “agriculture” etched into Tennessee’s seal, she argued it doesn’t belong in the Volunteer State, either.

During debate over the bill, there was a rare showing of bipartisan support for the legislation

The vote on the bill in its first House Subcommittee was ultimately delayed. It also has to pass multiple committees in the Senate before a final vote.