Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICUTURE, 6/18/18

The question of which part of the federal government will be responsible for regulating the emerging sector of lab-grown or cultured meat products has kicked off a turf battle within the Trump administration, reports Pro Ag's Helena Bottemiller Evich. Both FDA and USDA have signaled they want to oversee the products, which take animal cells and multiply them to recreate foods like chicken nuggets and burgers.

FDA quick out of the gate: The agency appears to have beaten USDA to the punch. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb issued a statement Friday declaring that the agency not only has jurisdiction over the products — which have yet to hit the market — but that it also plans to hold a public meeting on the issue next month.

What's at stake: The cell-cultured technology has attracted massive venture capital investment as startups seek to change how the world consumes meat. How the government will apply a regulatory framework to the nascent industry — or whether it will regulate it at all — holds the potential to influence its trajectory.

Down on USDA: Alt-meat advocates — who prefer the term "clean meat" — do not want USDA to oversee their products, largely out of fear the department would quash innovation at the behest of the livestock industry, which is divided about how to respond to the emerging technology.

The word from the Whitten Building: "FDA's claim of jurisdiction over food — and anything used in food — is so overly broad that it implies that USDA doesn't have a role," a USDA spokesperson said in a statement Friday. "According to federal law, meat and poultry inspections are the sole purview of USDA, so we expect any product marketed as 'meat' to be USDA's responsibility. We look forward to working with FDA as we engage the public on this issue."