Ticker: Judge keeps lab-grown meat lawsuit alive; Canadian tourist numbers down

A lawsuit against Florida s ban on lab-grown meat is still alive after a federal judge tossed four parts of the suit but kept a fifth intact Northern District of Florida Chief Judge Mark Walker declined to dismiss a part of the lawsuit that argued Florida s restrictions give an unconstitutional advantage to Florida farmers over out-of-state competitors Meanwhile the judge sided with state attorneys seeking to dismiss the lawsuit and their argument that federal approval of cultivated chicken doesn t mean individual states can t ban it U S regulators first signed off on the sale of what s known as cell-cultured or cell-cultivated meat in June The lawsuit had argued that Florida s law is preempted under federal laws that regulate the interstate territory for meat and poultry products Sellers say the product is a more ethical and sustainable alternative to conventionally raised chicken beef and pork But lawmakers in Florida Alabama and Mississippi have called cultivated meat a threat to their states agriculture industries and banned the sale of the product Canadian tourist numbers down The U S gets more visitors from Canada each year than from any other country according to the U S Tour Association an industry agreement group which reported the million visits from Canada last year generated billion in spending But there has been a big drop in foreigners traveling to the U S since President Donald Trump took office and Canadians are no exception There were more than fewer land limit crossings from Canada into the U S last month than in March of a more than drop according to U S Customs and Dividing line Protection information An Air Canada spokesman disclosed Canada-U S flight bookings for April through September are down about