As Americans gather this Fourth of July, we do so with a special milestone in mind. This Saturday, our nation will celebrate its 250th anniversary, a moment to reflect on the ideas and values that have made the United States the most innovative and prosperous nation in history.

For two and a half centuries, America has led the world not by fearing new technologies, but by embracing them, and often inventing them.

Thomas Jefferson envisioned an agrarian republic built on independent farmers and free enterprise. But he was also a tinkerer, endlessly curious about better crops and better tools. He’d have recognized that the agrarian spirit and the innovative spirit were never in conflict — they were the same impulse. From the transcontinental railroad and mechanized farming to hybrid seeds, biotechnology, and precision agriculture, our country has repeatedly chosen to build, innovate, and lead the way. 

Every generation has faced questions about new technologies and how they fit into American life. Time and again, we have answered those questions with optimism, entrepreneurship, and a belief that consumers, not governments, should decide what succeeds in the marketplace.

Today, precision cultivated foods is a new form of agriculture that represents another opportunity to continue that proud American tradition.

Just a few weeks ago, I attended Food Systems Day during London Climate Action Week. Government officials, researchers, investors, and industry leaders from around the world gathered to discuss the future of food and agriculture. One message came through clearly: countries increasingly view food innovation as a matter of economic competitiveness, food security, and national resilience. What struck me most was the urgency.

The United Kingdom, despite not having approved a single commercial cultivated food product for human consumption, is treating alternative proteins and food technology as a strategic priority. Japan is doing the same. Across Europe, governments are investing in research, manufacturing, workforce development, and regulatory capacity because they recognize that the future of food will help shape the future of their economies.

America is still ahead — more federally cleared cultivated foods, more approved species, than anywhere else. But leadership isn’t guaranteed, and other countries aren’t standing still.

The government’s job is to protect consumers, not pick winners.

This country’s strength has always come from expanding liberty, not restricting it. We don’t all drive the same cars or eat the same foods, and no politicians should get to decide that for us. Precision cultivated food and agriculture isn’t about replacing traditional farming — it’s about expanding the American farmer’s and entrepreneur’s toolbox, creating new manufacturing jobs, and giving consumers more choices. New technologies expand markets, they don’t eliminate them. The government’s role should be limited: make sure products are safe and honestly labeled, not pick winners and losers before consumers get a say.

A country that can’t feed itself isn’t fully free.

The U.S. imports much of its seafood, and animal disease outbreaks and supply chain disruptions keep exposing how fragile our food system can be. Diversifying how and where we produce food makes us more resilient, and we still have every advantage needed to lead: world-class universities, deep capital markets, an entrepreneurial culture, and a regulatory system grounded in science rather than fear.

As we mark 250 years, I keep coming back to what’s made this country exceptional: we build, we innovate, we compete, and we trust free people to make their own choices — including about their own dinner tables. Precision cultivated agriculture is a chance to keep doing exactly that, powered by the same restless, independent spirit Jefferson wanted for the American farmer in the first place.

Happy 4th of July and let’s keep the future of food made in America.

By Drake Jamali