> strikes me as very shortsighted The world doesn't have to be homogenous and probably shouldn't be. Nations have "brands" that mean something to their people

> strikes me as very shortsighted The world doesn't have to be homogenous and probably shouldn't be. Nations have "brands" that mean something to their people and that have outsized economic value in trade. Further, heterogenous approaches to new technology is a powerful way for the human species to hedge its bets against unknowable long-term risks. Italy can spend the next N decades branding themselves as the place to look for quality traditional meats that convey millennia of culinary heritage and husbandry practice and almost certainly come out far ahead economically vs rushing to void that implicit value in favor of factory-grown synthetic meats shipped in from some distant country. And then, if the tides have turned after those N decades, they can consider hopping on the bandwagon then. For a small nation with a strong and valuable brand for culinary goods, there's very very little to lose in this strategy. Excepting those peers that have a mature industrial stake in synthetic meats, you can expect to see similar discussions in France and elsewhere.