Franken Foods Straight from the Lab or Mother Nature's Original Design? Your choice.
Topics in this article:
What Are 3D Printed Foods and Bioengineered Ingredients?
Labeling Requirements
Primary Examples of Natural Food Products that are Mimicked by 3D Printed and Bioengineered Foods
Proposed Future Ingredients
Approximate Percentage of 3D Printed Foods and Bioengineered Ingredients In Use Today
What Are Functional Foods?
Mission Creep
Which US States Currently Allow or Ban Lab-Grown Meat?
Summary
References
As a preface to the following deep dive into lab-grown or modified food, I would like to ask why, as a human society with common sense and free will, do we need to create artificial foods (like these 3D printed desserts, which make you wonder what they are actually made of?), when Nature's original designs for the human body are so incredibly abundant and far superior at advancing health?
Is there a single good reason to reinvent traditional natural food growing methods, only to replace them with laboratory 'franken foods' that lack the multidimensional health-giving properties and abundant bioavailable nutrition of foods provided directly from Nature?
Be aware, this is what our "technologically-advanced" civilization has come to. Partly because of this, (coupled, of course, with today's failed medical model), America is now in one of the worst states of health of any country in the world.
Decide for yourself if you want to participate in this trans-humanistic agenda, or participate in the positive redesign of human life on Earth in ways that respect the Earth, promote what benefits the whole, and live closer to the original design of the Creator—-one that maximizes inherent human potentials naturally!
I share the following so you may understand a little better what areas of life we have to avoid and ultimately dismiss, in order to achieve a healthier, more productive life for ourselves and our families.
What Are 3D Printed Foods and Bioengineered Ingredients?
3D-printed foods are made by combining various pastes, purees, or "inks" (made of a range of both natural and chemical formulations). They are extruded layer-by layer, like squeezing frosting out to make designs on a cake, or pasta shapes and swirls) in order to create the look and feel of natural foods.
Bioengineered ingredients, on the other hand, typically come from genetically engineered microbes, cells, or plants used to produce proteins, fats, or other components that are added to common manufactured (processed) food products.
3D Printed (Lab-Grown) meats, vegetables, specialty chocolates, candies, etc. can also include bioengineered food ingredients.
Bioengineered food ingredients, by definition, are components derived from organisms whose genetic material has been modified using laboratory techniques like recombinant DNA (rDNA), excluding modifications possible via traditional methods.
These ingredients must contain detectable modified genetic material to qualify for the classification under the U.S. National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) [1].
Ingredients and foods from genetically modified corn, soy, alfalfa, Artic apple, AquAdvantage salmon, and canola are examples on the USDA's List of Bioengineered Foods [2].
However, highly refined products, such as certain oils or sugars from bioengineered crops, often escape labeling if no modified DNA remains detectable.
Labeling Requirements
Mandatory disclosures of bioengeneered ingredients added to edible products appear on packaging for these products meeting the criteria, often as text descriptions, symbols, or digital links, as required by law since 2022, currently seen on numerous canned and packaged foods as "CONTAINS A BIOENGINEERED FOOD INGREDIENT" [1].
Therefore, when you see a comment on a label, "DERIVED FROM BIOENGINEERED SOURCES", this indicates a voluntary disclosure for bioengineered sources in which the refinement process is such that the presence of genetically modified DNA is no longer detectable [3].
Of course, this raises the question regarding the sensitivity of the instruments being used for such tests.
However, many bioengineered ingredients are now functionally "invisible," having been folded into common processed foods as protein isolates, enzymes, or flavor/fat components [4].
Read your labels!
Better yet, avoid packaged goods and fast foods altogether, especially those made or owned by large corporations.
Get to know your local farmer and grow as much of your own food as possible!
If something you just ate from a restaurant or grocery store isn't setting well in your stomach, understand that Nature still has a remedy to solve these side effects.
Q&A: What Everyone Ought to Know About Digestive Enzymes, HCL, and Bile Supplements -- Causes and Solutions for Digestive Discomfort
However, some of what we are finding in grocery stores (like refrigerator magnets that stick to packaged meat products) may require a more intense detoxification protocol. Metals like this have no place in our food supplies. How did they get there? What were these animals fed? (Click the photo for video)
Search engine queries are programmed to try to tell you these things are not "facts", yet it is the experience of thousands of people around the world that magnets are sticking to some packaged foods. Who makes the feed that these animals were fed?
Test this out for yourself to discern whether your local store provisions can be trusted, then read this article to identify an appropriate avenue to regular detoxification: How to Empower Any Detox Protocol and Protect the Body from Detox Side Effects
Primary Examples of Natural Food Products that are Mimicked by 3D Printed and Bioengineered Foods
3D‑printed edible pastes and gels are mainly used to imitate the look and mouthfeel of familiar whole foods so people recognize them on the plate. Most efforts focus on high‑value items where texture and structure are more critical for large-scale acceptance.
Bioengineered food ingredients are, more likely than not today, to show up in virtually any packaged food, canned goods, snacks, candies, desserts, fast foods, and restaurant foods provided by large corporations today.
Examples already in the food chain in a limited number of US states include:
Meat and Poultry
Beef steak (grilled steak, filet‑style cuts) using plant‑protein or hybrid pastes structured to resemble steak muscle fibers.
Chicken breast, nuggets, or steak‑like chicken cuts, mimicking the fibrous bite and chewiness of pan‑fried chicken breast.
Pork or beef‑style burger patties, and minced‑meat formats, shaped and layered to cook like conventional burgers [5].
Fish and Seafood
Salmon fillets, including vegan/mycoprotein salmon with layered "flakes" similar to cooked salmon.
White‑fish fillets and cod‑like pieces created with delicate laminar structures to resemble fish muscle.
Other seafood cuts such as shrimp, eel, and generic fish steaks, focusing on recreating bouncy or flaky textures [6].
Pasta, Bread, and Dough Foods
Traditional pasta shapes (e.g., shells, spirals, custom 3D shapes) that cook and bite like regular durum‑wheat pasta.
Bread‑like or cake‑like soft crumbs, where dough pastes are printed to mimic loaves, buns, or sponge textures.
Cookies and biscuits, where the printed dough imitate the crunch or shortness of conventional baked cookies [7].
Dairy and Cheese‑type Products
Cheese‑like spreads and slices, printed from dairy or plant‑based cheese pastes to mimic soft cheeses and processed slices.
Cheesecake‑style desserts where layers of cream‑cheese filling and crust are printed into familiar cheesecake forms [8].
Fruits, Vegetables, and Mixed Dishes
Vegetable pieces (e.g., carrot, pumpkin, beetroot, broccoli) re‑formed into familiar shapes for dysphagia diets (difficulty swallowing) so they look like the original cooked vegetables.
Fish‑and‑vegetable or meat‑and‑vegetable composites (e.g., tuna with pumpkin puree) printed into steak‑ or fillet‑like shapes for elderly or medical diets.
Pureed full meals that visually mimic traditional dishes (meat + sides), but are made from smooth, printed purees for easier swallowing [9].
Sweets, Chocolates, and Desserts
Chocolate bars and pralines shaped like conventional bars, truffles, and filled pieces, using printed chocolate pastes.
Layered cakes, mousses, and intricate desserts that still mimic common cake or pastry textures but with complex printed geometries.
Sugar candies and decorative toppers that replicate the crunch or snap of traditional molded confections [10].
Specialized Healthcare Snacks and Foods
Hospital and elder‑care snacks for dysphagia: 3D‑printed, easy‑to‑swallow pureed snacks and mini‑meals fortified with protein, fiber, and vitamins for elderly or dysphagic patients (e.g., projects using Food in similar printers in European and Asian hospitals) [11][12].
Personalized vitamin gummies and gels: Experimental 3D‑printed gummy‑like or gel‑based snacks where vitamin and mineral contents (such as vitamin D, calcium, or iron) are tailored to an individual's needs, often studied in clinical or lab settings rather than sold widely in supermarkets [13].
Polyphenol‑rich or Antioxidant Snacks: Prototype printed snacks incorporating encapsulated plant polyphenols or antioxidant extracts, designed for controlled release and improved bioavailability, evaluated in research on personalized nutrition and chronic‑disease prevention [14].
High‑protein or Sports‑nutrition Bites: Research systems that print high‑protein, high‑fiber snacks with added amino acids or micronutrients for athletes or rehabilitation patients, showing the feasibility of on‑demand, composition‑controlled snack production [15].
Again, what are these 3D Printed food imitations actually made of? Here are a few proposals (quite likely already in your fast food meals):
Proposed Future Ingredients
Research envisions bioengineered materials for "advanced functionality" in 3D Printed Foods:
Genetically engineered starches, celluloses, and lignins to create functionally graded structures with tailored texture and nutrition.
Engineered microbes or cells for cultured meat hybrids, potentially printable with plant proteins for steak, chicken, or tuna mimics [16].
Precision-placed bioactive microgels (e.g., with β-carotene or capsaicinoids) in ultra-processed prints, with one significant concern being, "the lack of comprehensive studies on the impact of additives on industrialization and food production for specific diseases and the examination of existing challenges" [17].
Approximate Percentage of 3D Printed Foods and Bioengineered Ingredients In Use Today
Global 3D food printing is still small in absolute market terms but growing quickly, with the total 3D food printing market estimated at roughly hundreds of millions of dollars in the mid‑2020s and projected to rise into the multiple‑billion‑dollar range over the next decade [18].
3D printed foods and/or bioengineered ingredients are already hidden within burgers, fries, cheese, chicken, ribs, pork, beverages, etc. sold by major fast food chains and restaurants nationwide [19].
When compared to the multi‑trillion‑dollar global food and beverage market, this suggests that 3D-printed foods are currently well under 1% of total food sales, likely at the level of a few hundredths of a percent, yet available now in many cities through national-brand fast food chains.
With bioengineered ingredients, however, the situation is quite the opposite. Since many of these ingredients are used as minor components ,and often bundled under broad labeling terms, a precise percentage is impossible to determine, but I personally suspect it approaches 90+ percent among products produced by large corporations [20].
Bioengineered components (fermentation-derived proteins, enzymes, specialty fats, and fortification ingredients) are already known to be present across a large majority of processed and packaged foods, especially in categories like plant-based meats, seafood, dairy analogues, baking and confectionery, and functional foods [21].
What Are Functional Foods?
Functional foods contain substances that have positive effects on health "beyond basic nutrition". This can include both naturally occurring foods, herbs, mushrooms, etc. with well-documented health benefits, as well as foods in which ingredients have been added to enhance their biological or nutritional effects. This is where questionable science and motive can alter any true benefit.
A new definition is proposed by Frontiers in Nutrition as follows: "Functional foods are novel foods [make note of the emphasis on "novel", meaning unique and previously unseen] that have been formulated so that they contain substances or live microorganisms that have a possible health-enhancing or disease-preventing value, and at a concentration that is both safe and sufficiently high to achieve the intended benefit. The added ingredients may include nutrients, dietary fiber, phytochemicals, other substances, or probiotics." [22]
Yet, even this definition would obscure the "type" of additive to a specific food. "Other substances" could be either a known nutrient or a bioengineered substance [23].
How can imitation food begin to come close to the original food source designed by Nature?
Isn't it wiser to simply devote the same amount of resources to teaching regenerative agriculture techniques and converting empty lots and dilapidated buildings into community gardens so everyone can benefits from Nature's exceptional abundance (read zucchini, tangerines, apples, figs, peaches, tomatoes, peppers, and other single plants capable of providing for several families at once).
What are we giving up by trying to redesign food inside of a lab, just so big corporations can maximize profits—-at our own expense in terms of health?
What is the long-range agenda being promoted here?
Mission Creep
The above is an example of "mission creep": small, seemingly innocuous changes that obscure a long-range objective. Given recent events and the inclusion of "bioengineered" substances and 3D printed or lab-grown foods already in our food supplies today, can these, or any, obscure definitions truly be in our best interest? [24]
Important Caveat
Most restaurant chains do not advertise "bioengineered" or "3D‑printed" as a category; they typically market items as "plant‑based," "alternative protein," or by the supplier brand [25]. Can you confidently trust your restaurant foods today?
Which US States Currently Allow or Ban Lab-Grown Meat?
U.S. approval for specific products (such as cultivated chicken from Upside Foods and GOOD Meat) is a federal matter, therefore, restaurants in any state that has not passed a ban may serve these products, subject to USDA/FDA rules and local food codes, although availability is limited by very small production volumes and company roll‑out strategies [26].
As of 2025, only a small but growing group of states ban cultivated meat sales, meaning restaurants in all other states can legally serve it, if they can source product and meet federal and local specifications [27].
States That Currently Ban the Sale of Lab-Grown Meats
Seven U.S. states currently ban or impose temporary bans on the sale, manufacture, or distribution of cultivated (lab-grown or cell-cultured) meats as of late 2025, with some facing legal challenges.
No comprehensive nationwide list of active proposals exists in public sources, but recent state legislative activity has focused on outright prohibitions rather than new variable definition bills as of post-summer 2025 [28].
States with Bans in Effect
|
State
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Ban Details [21][25][22][23][24]
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Alabama
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Full ban on manufacture/sale/distribution since Oct. 2024; misdemeanor penalties up to $10,000.
|
|
Florida
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Full ban on sale/manufacture/distribution since May 2024; facing lawsuit from UPSIDE Foods.
|
|
Indiana
|
Two-year moratorium (July 2025–June 2027) on sales; post-moratorium requires "imitation meat" labeling.
|
|
Mississipi
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Full ban enacted prior to 2025; specifics include prohibition on sale.
|
|
Montana
|
Full ban on manufacture/sale/distribution since May 2025 (HB401).
|
|
Texas
|
Ban on sale of cell-cultured products until Sept. 2027, effective Sept. 2025; facing legal challenge.
|
|
Nebraska
|
Executive order restricts state agencies from buying; not a full commercial ban but blocks institutional use. [26]
|
States with Proposals or Past Legislative Activity
Failed or shelved 2024–2025 bills in Arizona (HB2121 passed House but failed Senate), Tennessee (HB2860/SB2870 not advanced), and others like Iowa (labeling only, no full ban).
No active 2025 proposals confirmed in Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah, South Dakota (labeling-focused), or elsewhere beyond the listed bans [36].
Additional Notes on Legislative Activity and Challenges
States like Iowa prohibit cultivated meat in schools and require labels like "fake" or "lab-grown" but allow commercial sales with disclosure [37].
Bans primarily aim to protect traditional livestock industries, with top beef states (except Kansas) involved [38].
Legal challenges in Florida and Texas may alter enforcement [39].
Summary
Modern food technology is rapidly filling our plates with 3D‑printed, lab‑grown, and bioengineered ingredients that are often hidden behind vague labels and “functional” claims.
While marketed as innovation and sustainability, these ultra‑engineered foods have been quietly entering into the marketplace in a gradual, mission creep manner—slowly shifting us away from nature’s original, nutrient‑rich, life-promoting designs toward corporate‑controlled, laboratory products.
Choosing whole, minimally processed foods from known sources, supporting local farmers, developing community gardens or growing your own food, and demanding transparent definitions and labeling, as well as outright bans, are among some of the most powerful ways to protect both human health and the integrity of the food supply.
It is true that we are not actually here to "change the world", but to change our personal inner selves, visions, potentials, lifestyle, health choices, education, and attitudes which simply remove us from the fear-based, scarcity agendas of global activity.
In this manner we simply dis-empower the potentials at the broader levels by not giving them our compliance, and most certainly by depriving them of our cash support.
Education, however, is central to deciding whether we prefer to travel the low road or the high road. The path of dependence or self-reliance. That is a freewill choice that each living soul must make for themselves.
Many blessing of health and success,
Live as close to Nature as you can and enjoy the multitude of gifts that She offers!
---
References
[1] https://www.ams.usda.gov/resources/industry-fact-sheet-national-bioengineered-food-disclosure-standard
[2] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/11/29/2023-26059/national-bioengineered-food-disclosure-standard-list-of-bioengineered-foods
[3] https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/be
[4] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10487194/
[5] https://www.designboom.com/technology/3d-printed-salmon-pasta-dessert-future-food-software-controlled-meals-deep-dive-05-13-2025/
[6] https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/3d-printed-food-savoreat-and-sodexo-commercialize-robot-chef-food-3d-printer-for-us-universities-195159/
[7] https://3dspro.com/resources/blog/10-3d-printed-foods-you-might-want-to-try
[8] https://www.stablemicrosystems.com/blog/2025/cutting-edge-3d-printed-food-innovations-impact-and-the-essential-role-of-texture-analysis/
[9] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/food-science-and-technology/articles/10.3389/frfst.2025.1607449/full
[10] https://www.steakholderfoods.com
[11] https://www.stablemicrosystems.com/blog/2025/cutting-edge-3d-printed-food-innovations-impact-and-the-essential-role-of-texture-analysis/
[12] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/food-science-and-technology/articles/10.3389/frfst.2025.1607449/full
[13] https://www.designboom.com/technology/3d-printed-salmon-pasta-dessert-future-food-software-controlled-meals-deep-dive-05-13-2025/
[14] https://www.stablemicrosystems.com/blog/2025/cutting-edge-3d-printed-food-innovations-impact-and-the-essential-role-of-texture-analysis/
[15] https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/3d-printed-food-savoreat-and-sodexo-commercialize-robot-chef-food-3d-printer-for-us-universities-195159/
[16] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0963996925001280
[17] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001868624001040
[18] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/3d-food-printing-market-hit-143000331.html
[19] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10487194/
[20] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0141813025063986
[21] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10487194/
[22] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9559824/
[23] https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/food-science-and-technology/articles/10.3389/frfst.2025.1607449/full
[24] https://nationalaglawcenter.org/alternative-proteins-2025-litigation-update/
[25] https://nationalaglawcenter.org/state-compilations/alternative-protein-laws-state-compilation/
[26] https://www.newhope.com/regulatory/cultivated-meat-to-enter-us-market-with-full-usda-approval
[27] https://statecapitallobbyist.com/food/lab-grown-meat-bans-in-2025-which-states-are-restricting-cultivated-meat/
[28] https://www.cattlerange.com/articles/2025/06/seven-states-ban-the-sale-of-lab-grown-meat/
[29] https://www.cattlerange.com/articles/2025/06/seven-states-ban-the-sale-of-lab-grown-meat/
[30] https://www.bdlaw.com/publications/florida-bans-cultivated-meat-first-in-a-potential-series-of-similar-bans/
[31] https://www.nationalhogfarmer.com/market-news/montana-indiana-join-states-banning-lab-grown-meat
[32] https://statecapitallobbyist.com/food/lab-grown-meat-bans-in-2025-which-states-are-restricting-cultivated-meat/
[33] https://www.nationalhogfarmer.com/market-news/montana-indiana-join-states-banning-lab-grown-meat
[34] https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/lab-grown-meat-ban-goes-effect-red-state-faces-legal-challenge
[35] https://nationalaglawcenter.org/cell-cultured-meat-updates-state-bans-labeling-requirements-and-regulatory-clarifications/
[36] https://nationalaglawcenter.org/state-compilations/alternative-protein-laws-state-compilation/
[37] https://nationalaglawcenter.org/state-compilations/alternative-protein-laws-state-compilation/
[38] https://www.cattlerange.com/articles/2025/06/seven-states-ban-the-sale-of-lab-grown-meat/
[39] https://ij.org/case/florida-cultivated-meat-ban/
