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Cultivated meatmeat grown from cells, not from whole animalsisnt yet a widespread option in grocery stores or restaurants. The innovation, which involves growing meat from real animal cells without raising or slaughtering any animals, is still relatively rare. But already, Texas lawmakers have decided to ban it. Now, two cultivated meat companies are fighting back with a federal lawsuit that challenges the ban. The Institute for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law firm, along with cultivated meat startups Wildtype and Upside Foods, argue that the Texas law is an unconstitutional move to protect the agriculture industry from competition. This law has nothing to do with protecting public health and safety and everything to do with protecting conventional agriculture from innovative out-of-state competition, Institute for Justice senior attorney Paul Sherman said in a press conference on Wednesday. (The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration have approved both Upside’s and Wildtypes cultivated meat as safe.) How do we know that? Sherman continued. Because the sponsors of the bill made absolutely no secret of it. Repeatedly in committee hearings and on the floor of the Texas House, they said that the purpose of this law is to protect Texas’s agricultural industry. But that is not a legitimate use of government power.” Cultivated meat has been offered in only one Texas restaurant. Otoko, a sushi restaurant in Austin, began serving Wildtype salmon this summer. But once the ban went into effect, the restaurant stopped selling it. By limiting what Texans can eat, the companies involved in the lawsuit say the ban is also a slippery slope toward handing over personal choices to the government. Lawsuits against cultivated meat Cultivated meat has faced lawsuits before. In 2024, Florida became the first state to ban cultivated meat, with Alabama quickly following suit. This year, lab-grown meat bans passed in Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, and Texas. (Cultivated meat bans have also been considered in a handful of other states, including Georgia and Wyoming.) Some bans dont bar lab-grown meat forever. The Indiana and Texas lawsuits prohibit the sale of cultivated meat for two years. The Texas bill, SB 261, was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in June and went into effect on September 1. It imposes fines of up to $25,000 a day and even jail time for selling cultivated meat. Texas is the largest beef-producing state in the country, with some 4 million beef cattle. Sid Miller, the states agriculture commissioner, applauded the ban, saying in a statement that it was a massive win for Texas ranchers, producers, and consumers.” He added: “Its plain cowboy logic that we must safeguard our real, authentic meat industry from synthetic alternatives. Cultivated meat companies fight back To the companies that make this cultivated meat, these bans are clearly a way to protect the meat and ranching industry from competition. Cultivated meat has been a burgeoning industry for about a decade, but it only recently received regulatory approval in the U.S. Upside Foods, which makes cultivated chicken, was the first to get that approval back in 2023. Wildtype, which makes cultivated salmon, received approval in 2025. To make cultivated meat, these companies grow the cellswhether from chickens or salmonin big cultivators, usually with a blend of ingredients like amino acids and sugars. Wildtype CEO Justin Kolbeck likened the process to brewing beer. (Though cultivated meat has also been called lab-grown meat, Uma Valeti, CEO and founder of Upside Foods, has contested that label. Its not made in a lab, he has said, but in a production facility like any other food.) These companies are offering consumers a choice, they sayespecially for people who may not want to switch to plant-based meats but who still want to curb their meat consumption as a way to benefit the climate. The lawsuit filed against the Texas ban challenges it under two constitutional provisions: the Commerce Clause, which prohibits states from impairing interstate commerce, and the Supremacy Clause, which bars states from enacting laws that conflict with federal laws. The Poultry Products Inspection Act, for example, says states cannot enact requirements on ingredients in poultry products, or on the facilities and operations that produce them. For the same reason California cannot ban Texas beef in California, Texas cannot ban salmon or chicken from California, Valeti said in a statement. Texans deserve the freedom to decide for themselves what to eat without politicians choosing for them. Wildtype’s Kolbeck also noted during the press conference that when it comes to seafood, America needs more stateside production. More than 80% of seafood on Americans plates is imported, and in April, the Trump administration issued an executive order to restore American seafood competitiveness. [We] are an American small business trying to do exactly what this executive order envisions, he said. In 2024, the Institute for Justice also filed a lawsuit in Florida, with Upside Foods, challenging that states cultivated-meat ban. In April, a judge denied the state’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, so it will move forward to trial court. The Texas lawsuit asks the district court to issue a preliminary injunction to block the ban, which would allow Wildtype and Upside to continue to make their cultivated meat available to Texans while the case continues.
Category:
E-Commerce
Your first 90 days as an executive set the tone for your reputation, relationships, and results. During this period, the board, C-suite, and peers are silently asking themselves, Did we make the right choice? Harvard Business School research on the first 90 hours shows that the earliest actions you take (or fail to take) quickly shape the narrative others tell about your leadership. McKinsey calls leadership transitions one of the most important, and under-supported, events in businessyet nearly half are viewed as disappointments or outright failures within two years. And the pressure is mounting: Korn Ferry finds the average C-suite tenure (excluding that of the CEO) has declined to just 3.5 to 4.7 years, leaving leaders with little margin for error. From day one, youre expected to prove you belong and deliver impact. When Tyler became chief growth officer at a global adtech company, he walked into a high-stakes environment. He faced slowing client renewals, new privacy regulations, and friction between product, sales, and data science teams. The pressure to deliver was immediate. McKinsey research shows that nearly 70% of CEOs replace members of their top team within two years, a reminder that leaders are often judged quickly on their ability to deliver. Tyler knew the clock was ticking. Through our work advising dozens of companies facing similar situations, weve seen what works. Kathryn Landis, as an executive coach and keynote speaker, and Jenny Fernandez, as an executive advisor and learning & development expert, have supported senior leaders with their onboarding process using five key strategies to maximize their first 90 days. 1. Prepare Before You Start The strongest executives dont wait for day one; they use the pre-start period as a strategic runway. Companies that support this transition are nine times more likely to achieve their performance goals. Tyler spent his pre-start phase building a foundation. He met with regional sales leads, the head of product, and key clients to understand strengths and friction points. He reviewed campaign performance dashboards with the data science team and came armed with pointed questions about churn, market share, and competitive positioning. By the time he stepped into the role, he wasnt starting cold. He had already mapped key relationships, identified three high-impact priorities, and knew exactly how he wanted to introduce himself to the organization. Pro tip: Smart prep before day one can save you months later. Prioritize conversations that give you both insight and allies. 2. Set the Strategic Tone With Your First Moves Your first public moments as an executive leader arent introductionstheyre signals. Unlike other leadership levels, your opening moves are amplified across multiple audiences at once: The board scrutinizes your strategic judgment, employees look for clarity and confidence, and analysts and clients assess whether you can inspire trust in the companys direction. These moments set the narrative for your tenure. At his first town hall, Tyler didnt sidestep the hard realities. He addressed the impact of new privacy regulations on revenue head-on, signaling transparency and urgency. He also previewed his first 90 days using a 30-60-90 framework: the first month for accelerated learning and relationship building, the second for delivering early wins and building alignment, and the third for locking in systems and scaling results. Framing his approach this way showed discipline in pacing and sequencing while making his priorities visible to both employees and the board. Pro tip: Own the room early. Acknowledge the tough truths, share your priorities, and invite people into the solution. 3. Decode Power Dynamics and Close Capabilities Gaps At the C-suite level, its not enough to read the org chart; you need to know where influence and execution risk truly reside. Unlike mid-level leaders who can focus narrowly on their own teams, executives must see across silos, uncover hidden influencers, and quickly spot the gaps that could stall strategy. In his first month, Tyler identified a mid-level account strategist whose quiet influence made her the go-to fixer for client reporting issues and brought her into planning discussions. He also uncovered a critical capability gap: Sales lacked confidence in pitching AI-based targeting tools. Within weeks, he launched targeted training sessions to close it. At the enterprise level, he partnered with the COO to address misalignment between product and sales, formalizing decision rights to accelerate release timelines. Pro Tip: Dont just look at titles. Find the people who can move mountains and align them with your agenda. 4. Turn Early Wins into Enterprise Momentum Early wins at this level arent about checking a box. They are proof you can turn strategy into results at scale. This allows you to earn the political capital needed for bolder moves. Tyler understood this dynamic. He wanted to show visible progress on the most frustrating roadblock to both the board and the front line: the broken client renewal process. Partnering with a cross-functional task force, he streamlined approvals, standardized templates, and introduced a dashboard to track processes. Within 90 days, he cut renewal turnaround time by 15%. The win was easy to measure, easy to explain, and directly tied to revenue. Checklist: Identifying wins that matter Stakeholder priority: Will the CEO, board, or frontline leaders see it as a top concern? Business derailer: Is it blocking growth, execution, or customer outcomes? Strategic impact: Will it deliver visible financial results or straegic results and energize teams? Enterprise scale: Does it cut across multiple teams/functions and create repeatable value? Measurable visibility: Can progress be tracked, communicated, and celebrated easily? Pro tip: Target wins that are visible, scalable, and strategically relevant. If it checks at least one box, its worth pursuing. 5. Establish Your Operating Rhythm Your operating rhythm is a visible signal of how you lead. It sets the tempo for the entire enterprise and cascades into decision-making, collaboration, and accountability. The way you structure updates, resolve issues, and enforce consistency becomes the culture. Tyler was intentional about how decisions, updates, and problem-solving would happen. He replaced sprawling weekly status meetings with 15-minute daily stand-ups for his leadership team. In addition, he launched a quarterly anonymous pulse survey to spot issues early, introduced a live dashboard to track campaign performance, and clarified cross-functional ownership with a responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed (RACI) chart. Most importantly, Tyler modeled consistency, showing up to every Monday sync on time, prepared, and focused. That reliability sent a clear message that discipline wasnt a preference; it was a leadership expectation. Pro tip: Your rhythm is your reputation. Protect it and make it contagious. Tylers success wasnt about a single bold move. It was about stacking deliberate actions that built trust, delivered results, and established a culture of focus and follow-through. In todays volatile C-suite environment, where tenure is shrinking and expectations are immediate, your first 90 days are more than an onboarding period. They are your launchpad. Lead with intention from day one, and you wont just survive those first three months; you will define the trajectory of your tenure.
Category:
E-Commerce
Florida plans to become the first state in the country to eliminate all vaccine mandates, including for schoolchildren, state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, announced on Wednesday. The Florida Department of Health, in partnership with the governor, is going to be working to end all vaccine mandates in Florida lawall of them. All of them. Every last one of them, Ladapo said during a news conference alongside Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The state’s surgeon general added that Florida has maybe half a dozen shots mandated currently. The mandates, which have been in effect for decades, have been a bedrock of the United States’ public health policy aimed at curbing the spread of disease nationwide, The Associated Press noted. Both physician and public health groups have promoted the safety and efficacy of vaccines, especially among schoolchildren. People have a right to make their own decisions, informed decisions, Ladapo, a vaccine critic, said. The rollback could lead to fewer children getting immunized against diseases like polio and measles. The Trump administration’s changing policies on vaccines under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have brought on more debate about whether parents should opt out of the shots as the school year begins. In Florida, the number of kindergartners with nonmedical vaccine exemptions rose this year, as it has nationwide, coinciding with the worst measles outbreak in 30 years. News that Florida would be ending its vaccine policy drew a strong reaction in some corners of social media, with some people saying they would not be visiting Florida as a result. “After 35 years of many trips to Florida, this is the last straw,” Figgy wrote in the comments section of The New York Times. “We’re selling off our property rather than be subjected to all the disease-infected residents that have elected these political hacks that don’t give a fig about their own people, let alone the tourism industry that supports their state.” In related news, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now questioning whether it’s safe to get multiple respiratory vaccines at oncefor example, the flu, coronavirus, and other RSV shotssignaling a possible reversal of long-standing federal guidance, The Washington Post reported. Vinay Prasad, the FDA’s top vaccine official, said the agency is now unsure about the safety of that practice.
Category:
E-Commerce
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