The USDA has denied a petition from the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to enforce a ban on purchasing egg substitute and laboratory-cultivated meat by SNAP recipients using federal funds.

The measure is regarded as a politically-inspired, feel-good exercise since there is no laboratory- cultivated meat commercially available. In any event, egg substitute products are far more expensive than shell egg and real egg liquid counterparts. The request was based on the claim that has certain justification that substitute egg products are not as nutritious as the animal derived alternatives.

The waiver sought by Iowa was based on a 2024 law regulating labeling of alternatives to animal- derived products and also banning alternatives to meat served in school lunches.