by Maya Homan, Georgia Recorder, [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]

November 28, 2025

What’s more bipartisan than a good meal?

Amid a number of contentious partisan debates, it can sometimes feel rare to find issues that lawmakers from across the aisle can agree on. But under the Georgia state Capitol’s gold dome — as in life — food often serves as a uniting force.

Lawmakers chewed on a number of food-related bills during the 2025 legislative session, spanning policies on lab-grown meat to which baked good is worthy of being Georgia’s official state bread. Here’s a few you should know.

Dinner with a side of foreign policy

As you sit down to eat this holiday season, your table may include an extra serving of Georgia state pride. Under a new law passed by the state Legislature earlier this year, two new dishes have become official state symbols, and the fourth Friday in November will be celebrated as “National Sugarcare Syrup Day.”

House Bill 233, introduced by Rep. Rick Townsend, a Brunswick Republican, designates Brunswick stew the official state stew of Georgia. The dish is generally made with a tomato-based sauce, beans, vegetables and meat — these days, most recipes call for chicken or pulled pork, but traditional Brunswick stew was historically made with small game meat, such as rabbit or squirrel.

Both Brunswick, Georgia and Virginia’s Brunswick County claim credit for the invention of the stew, in a rivalry that is unlikely to be settled by the passage of Georgia’s bill.

“Contrary to claims by other states, Georgia, and specifically Brunswick, Georgia, is the  birthplace of Brunswick stew,” the bill states.

Brunswick is also home to the annual Brunswick Rockin’ Stewbilee, which brings together stew lovers for a cooking competition, complete with live music, a car show, and a 5K race.

Ron Adams, one of the event’s founders and a longtime competitor, said that while there is a longstanding rivalry between the states, “it’s all been done, always with tongue in cheek and always in good fun, and nobody takes it too seriously.”

There are also a few regional differences between the two states’ versions of the stew, namely that Georgia’s Brunswick stew often contains pork, and tends to be chunkier than Virginian Brunswick stew. But at the end of the day, Adams added, each recipe is unique to the chef who cooks it.

“Brunswick stew has as many recipes as there are cooks,” he said.

Townsend’s legislation also includes a proposal from Rep. Kasey Carpenter to establish cornbread as the official state bread. 

Carpenter, a restaurant owner, said the variety of cornbread styles and flavors makes for a versatile, crowd-pleasing dish.

“There’s a lot of different flavors out there for people,” the Dalton Republican said. “Some people like jalapeños, some people like it sweet. The traditionalists don’t like it sweet. It’s pretty interesting, the diversity that’s out there.”

Though there was a small contingent of lawmakers who were vying for biscuits to become the state bread, Carpenter said cornbread was the natural choice for him.

“I like biscuits, but most people only eat a biscuit for one meal, people can eat cornbread for lunch and dinner,” he said, adding that cornbread’s Indigenous origins reflect the heritage of many residents of his northwest Georgia district.

“Cornbread has been made in the state of Georgia much longer than biscuits,” he said.

However, the revised bill was not immune from controversy. The Senate’s version included a measure that prevents state agencies from contracting with foreign adversaries such as China, prompting a wave of outcry from some Democrats who argued that the two issues should be addressed separately. 

The bill ultimately passed in a 113-51 vote, and was signed into law by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in May.

Both cornbread and Brunswick stew now join a list of Georgia’s edible symbols that includes Vidalia sweet onions (the official state vegetable), peaches (the official state fruit) and grits (the official state prepared food).

Next course

Lawmakers may have more food-related bills on their plate when they return to the capitol in January for the 2026 legislative session.

House Bill 65, introduced by state Rep. Angela Moore, would make collard greens the official state greens, and establish “potlikka” — a broth made from the boiled greens — as the official dipping sauce of the official state bread. For now though, the Stonecrest Democrat’s bill is stuck in committee. 

Other lingering measures are more serious and seek greater disclosure about the origins of the food we eat. House Bill 163, sponsored by Woodstock Republican Rep. Jordan Ridley, requires restaurants to inform customers when they’re serving lab-grown or plant-based meat. The bill passed the House, and is awaiting action in the Senate committee.

Another measure, introduced by Savannah Republican Rep. Jesse Petrea, would require restaurants to disclose the country of origin for all imported shrimp served to customers. The bill, House Bill 117, passed in the House but was tabled in the Senate near the end of the 2025 legislative session.

Though areas like Savannah are known for their seafood, reporting from Grist and WABE has found that much of the shrimp served at local restaurants is actually imported from other countries. The bill, Petrea said, is “about saving domestic shrimpers, and it’s about letting consumers know that what they’re eating is imported.”

If the bill is enacted during the 2026 legislative session, Petrea said he hopes coastal Georgia will be able to strengthen its shrimp industry, noting that he has already noticed greater awareness around local shrimp since the bill was introduced earlier this year.

“Just since that time, we’ve seen an improvement in the sale of domestic shrimp in our area,” he said, adding that he expects the bill will cross the finish line next year. 

“I’ve already gotten a commitment from the lieutenant governor that it’ll be a priority,” he said.

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.