ROME -- Farming leaders in Italy said Thursday that creating steaks in a laboratory could be "dangerous" and cause the farming industry to fall apart.

Giuseppe Politi, the president of the Italian farming group CIA, said ongoing attempts in the United States to create the meaty goods in a laboratory without killing animals could potentially bring about the "end of farming," the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

"Artificial steak would be useless and dangerous,'' Politi said.

''The principle underlying the project implies the end of farming,'' the farming executive added.

While animal rights groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals support the creation of such synthetic foods, Politi told ANSA the supporters should be concerned with potential health risks of the man-made meats.

''We have strong concerns about investments and research that aim to produce food clones, ignoring the precautionary principle on the impact on health,'' he told the news agency.