You're a not forced to eat or do anything. That's the same argument religious people have against abortions, even though no one is forcing you to have one.
No, That's the same argument religious people have about dietary restrictions.
In Italy food is a religion.
If Jews can have Kashrut and Muslims can only eat halal food (basically everything, except pork and its by-products), we can say no to lab grown food.
Why not?
Is it really progress to blindly accept everything, even if it could mean to completely hijack your own cultural traditions, that are such an important part of everyone's daily life?
No Jew ever died by eating non-kosher food. It's just a cultural tradition. Nonetheless we respect them, at least I do.
As an agnostic person who believes church and state should be very separate, you make the perfect argument for why I think this law is stupid. If you don't want to drink alcohol, smoke, eat pork or lab grown meat, go ahead. But don't force others into your religious ways of doing through restrictive laws. Just don't buy that stuff at the grocery store.
of course it is!
As an Italian from Rome, I am not only an atheist, but I'm deeply fond of the Roman Republic constitution that predates the Italian Constitution against the pope and the Vatican ruling over the people of Rome.
nevertheless food is like a religion for Italians
And religious and non religious people treat it like that.
we constantly talk about it, to the point that sometimes even I am sick of it.
I believe Japan is similar in that way.
Individuals that that follow Judaism and Islam _choose_ to limit their _personal_ diets. It's not forced upon them by the state (mostly?). To follow your analogy, you and the rest of Italy can say no to lab grown food, nothing is stopping you from not buying lab grown food.
On this specific topic though, I think banning lab grown meat could be done in a _somewhat_ reasonable way, they just went about it the wrong way. They could have just said they are worried about safety, jobs done.
Bringing in farmers, their livelihoods and tradition seems unnecessarily inflammatory.
You're totally right about it.
but honestly I did not expect anything better from post-fascists
The discussion of cheap, non nutritious food can take place pretty much anywhere today, sugary drinks, fast food, boutique organics with high markup values, labor, etc. but that's a matter of economics, whereas the move in Italy, although reasonable for their economy, is impacting a much earlier phase: R&D and P&D.