These days, it’s not unusual to walk into a grocery store and find plant-based items that are meant to take the place of meat, like vegan meatballs or plant-based bacon. While these items might be confused for actual meat if you only give them a quick glance, a closer look reveals the truth — because “meat-free,” “vegan,” and “vegetarian” can often be seen on the packaging. But that all might change. Missouri has become the first state to ban vegans from describing something as meat if it’s mostly made up of plants, and it could change things in a big way.
The new law was passed in mid-May, but it didn’t begin to take effect until this week. It bans companies and brands from “misrepresenting a product as meat that is not derived from harvested livestock or poultry,” which includes cultured or lab-grown meats and anything made of predominantly plants. Anyone who violates the new law can be fined up to $1,000 or imprisoned for up to one year.
In other words, foods with names like “vegan hot dogs” or “vegan bacon” are now illegal in Missouri. If the companies behind these products want to continue selling them, they’ll have to also rename them. When you’re talking about big companies that sell food all over the world, it becomes something that affects many more people.
The Missouri Cattleman’s Association is behind the law, previously stating that they back it to protect legal ranchers while preventing customers from getting confused about what they’re buying.
"I'm working on releasing a taco meat which I will have to call something else because of this law," the maker of Jake's Burgers said. "What else do you call it? Taco filling? Taco stuff? There's no word that fits in there besides meat." https://t.co/WfKQ6Lhq9M
— Alissa Zhu (@AlissaZhu) August 29, 2018
imprisoned?
— the cow says: black lives matter (@justasinglecow) August 29, 2018
IMPRISONED?!?
sure, let's allow the meat industry to continue slaughtering thousands of poor cows in Missouri
but HEY! Don't you dare name your vegan weenies "meat", that's a horrendous crime worth being incarcerated???
🐮😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡 pic.twitter.com/1RLRUjDj4h
The meat industry in Missouri doesn't seem to like plant-based meat substitutes.
— Dean Lappi (@DeanLappi) August 29, 2018
I'm a vegetarian, and I can say for a fact that every single vegetarian meat substitute states that their product is exactly that! Meatless, Vegan, meat-free, etc. https://t.co/v1TVdlUKmf
Companies like Tofurky and The Good Food Institute (a plant-based advocacy group) have already launched a lawsuit against the state, saying that the new ban is an attack on freedom of speech and commercial speech, and that it is therefore unconstitutional. According to documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, it says that this way of labeling doesn’t confuse customers, but also helps “distinguish their products from conventional meat products.”
Hey @Tofurky, I'm from #Missouri and I support your lawsuit against our state for trying to limit terminology of how vegan products are described. It's a ridiculous and futile attempt to thwart the #vegan movement! https://t.co/6zTg9oMrl1
— Marly (@NamelyMarly) August 28, 2018
Missouri might be the first U.S. state to do something like this, but it isn’t the first place to do it in general. A few months ago, France launched a similar ban on how meat alternatives could be marketed. Is this a sign towards a bigger trend against vegan products? We’ll have to wait and see what happens.
If you’re a vegan (or are interested in veganism) and want to keep up with vegan-specific news, VegNews Magazine is a great resource for daily updates.
