Senator Chris Murphy backs increased funding for cultivated-meat research

I received the following email today. It’s not on fancy letterhead — like Larson’s postal and email messages were — but I assume it’s legitimate based on the address. I’m attaching a screenshot to the bottom of this post.

“Thank you for your committed outreach on the issue of cultivated meat and alternative proteins. The truth is that our planet is in the midst of an ecological catastrophe, and the need to address climate change is more urgent than ever.

That is why I support additional USDA funding to help address climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support research that helps farmers improve their response to climate change. In October of 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture made one of its first major grants supporting cultivated meat research to Tufts University to fund the National Institute for Cellular Agriculture. This research was funded through the Agricultural and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), a program I have consistently supported through my role on the Senate Appropriations Committee. I will continue to fight for increases to agriculture research at AFRI and across the USDA so more research to help respond to climate change within the agriculture sector can be funded. I have spent my career in Congress fighting to protect the environment, and I will continue to support government action that I believe will further those goals.

Thank you again for contacting me about this matter. I appreciate hearing from you and assure you that I will always do my best to represent the views of my constituents in the Senate. In the future, please do not hesitate to call me in my Connecticut office at (860) 549-8463 or in my Washington office at (202) 224-4041.

Every Best Wish,

Christopher S. Murphy

United States Senator”