Andy Groseta’s family was on hand Jan. 28 at the Arizona Capitol when Arizona Rep. Quang Nguyen [R-District 1] named House Bill 2762 the “Andy Groseta Act” — honoring the prominent Verde Valley rancher who died July 22, 2025, at age 74 from pancreatic cancer.
The bill would require clear labeling to distinguish meat produced through the slaughter of animals from lab-grown and other cultivated cell products.
“Renaming the bill was pretty special; my dad worked on that even up to a few months before he passed,” Paul Groseta said. “He loved anything for the beef industry [and] agriculture. And the proclamation kind of hits it all. He really enjoyed politics and pushing to get bills through like this.”
Peter Andrew “Andy” Groseta spent his life championing Arizona agriculture from the pastures of his family’s W Dart Ranch, located between Cottonwood and Camp Verde, to become the president of the National Cattlemen’s Association and the Yavapai Cattle Growers’ Association.
“We [talked] a lot about the farming and the ranching community,” Nguyen said. “So I would always go to events where we have a lot of ranchers. We got along great, and we became good friends. And he and I talked about running a transparency bill when it comes to meat packaging labels. And we’re just good friends. And I miss him a lot. I got to see him a month before he passed away when I was fishing in Cottonwood, and he texted me and he said, ‘Hey, if you ever get to this side of the hill, would you give me a call, or would you come by to say hi?’ So I packed up my fly rods and just went to see Andy.”
Mary Beth Groseta said she has been adjusting to Andy’s death and has taken comfort looking over old photos from the late 1970s when the couple started dating.
“When I look back at those old photos from when we were dating, what really jumps out is that Andy never changed,” Mary Beth Groseta said. “He was always all about family. He worked hard with the kids, and even though he was busy all the time, he loved teaching agriculture and ranching. He knew that if we were going to come back to the ranch, he needed another source of income, so becoming a farm and ranch realtor tied in perfectly with that life. He never lost his enthusiasm for the ranch, the cows, our family or being a good steward of the land.
“He had a great faith, and his work ethic was to work hard — but he played a little, too. We traveled all over the country to cattle growers’ meetings, and he loved that life. That was Andy.”
Nguyen and his seatmate, Arizona Rep. Selina Bliss [R-District 1], sponsored this initiative in 2025 however it did not make it out of the senate. Bliss said she is “honored to be part of this legislative proclamation.”
“When I was still a candidate, Andy invited me to his office there in Cottonwood, and we just connected right away,” Bliss said. “I come from a family of farmers and ranchers, so I understood and respected and admired his longevity, his history and his ability to reach out to get things done.”
Five individuals and organizations have registered support for the bill, including the Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association and Arizona Farm and Ranch Group. Opposition comes from six parties, notably, the Arizona Retailers Association, Arizona Food Marketing Alliance and the Good Food Institute.
“The National Cattlemen came out a couple years ago down in Yarnell to the annual Yavapai Cattle Growers’ barbecue,” Bliss said. “They said, ‘we’ve got this issue. We need to address state by state that these lab-grown meats are not labeled, and it’s a transparency issue. … [Nguyen’s] taking lead on that. …There’s other legislators down here that want to ban lab-grown meat. We like consumer choice, so Nguyen and I are championing simply labeling it so the consumers are aware of what they’re consuming.”
House Bill 2121 introduced in 2024 by Bliss and four other Republican Representatives in 2024 that would have prohibited the selling and production of lab-grown meat citing the interests of ranchers in the bill text. However, Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska and Texas have passed bans to varying degrees on the sale of lab-grown meat, with Texas banning the sale for two years as of September. Lone Star lawmakers similarly have cited the interests of ranchers among the concerns.
“Cultivated meat is identical to conventional meat at the cellular level,” the Good Food Institute states.
The bill doesn’t currently include penalties for retailers who fail to comply with the labeling requirement.
“It’s more of a requirement to get this done, but we’re leaving it open right now,” Nguyen said, noting the previous version included a penalty phase but this year’s bill ‘just ran a traditional request to make sure that the industry complies with state law.’”
“I would like to honor Andy for all of the years that he’s been working with the ranching industry,” Nguyen said. “He’s a force there, and I would like to see this bill being successful for two reasons. Obviously, transparency is one of them, and the other one, just to honor Andy.”
House Bill 2197
Another ranching industry-related bill Bliss said she is working on is House Bill 2197, a constituent bill brought forward by Becki Ross, of a Verde Valley ranch, that would prohibit camping within a quarter-mile of a natural water hole containing water or a manmade watering or in a place that wildlife or domestic stock will be denied access, the bill reads.
“People are out in OHVs and camping near these water sources, and then livestock or wildlife can’t get to their water source,” Bliss said. “This is a law in New Mexico, and it seems to be doing really well there.”
Arizona’s proposed HB 2197 is approximately 47% more restrictive than New Mexico’s § 7-1-8, that would establish a 1,320 foot buffer zone versus New Mexico’s 900-foot restriction.
