La battaglia della carne coltivata dalle aule parlamentari a quelle di giustizia? Considerazioni a margine della legge 172/2023 fra armonizzazione, leale cooperazione e margini di autonomia degli Stati membri

[Machine translation] In recent times, we hear more and more frequently about lab-grown meat. In fact, the technology in question, about twenty years after the first studies, is now ready; some countries (e.g. Singapore, Israel) have already authorized its commercialization while clubs (e.g. the United States) are preparing to do so. We are, therefore, on the eve of a new possible industrial revolution that could profoundly change our eating habits and, with it, also the fundamental social structure that has seen agriculture and animal husbandry as one of the pillars on which our cultural identity and our history have been built. In addition to this, the usual alarmist information begins to circulate about the consequences that these new products could have on people's health, given that the technology in question uses animal stem cells to replicate them in bioreactors thanks to stimulating substances. Therefore, in this “perfect” scenario, the general contrasts between sustainability, technological innovation, protection of people's health and the current social structure are intertwined. As in all moments of “historic turning point”, it is essential that the change be accompanied (rectius: preceded) by regulatory choices that must not reflect existing social contrasts, but rather assume an authoritative, neutral position based on science. In Europe, this legislative “pivotal moment” is accompanied by the difficulty of identifying what level of governance may, in fact, be in the best position to take these decisions, considering the already complex regulatory framework in force and the delicate mechanisms for the distribution of competences and priorities that govern the interaction between European Union law and national systems. The article, starting from a general framework of the subject, reconstructs the regulatory framework of the various legally relevant profiles of the production and marketing of laboratory-grown meat, and then analyzes the case of the very recent Italian law n. 172/2023, which banned its production, commercialization and administration throughout the territory of the Republic. The rule will be examined both on the merits and with reference to its conflicting profiles with existing EU sources and to the procedural issues related to the obligation of prior notification. Finally, the work concludes by drawing some lessons from what happened to urge shared action at EU level before the first dossiers are submitted for evaluation as novel foods and, consequently, the products spread on the market, creating the conditions for a definitive consolidation of the ideological contrasts that already exist today.