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State Meat Labeling Laws Targeted by Litigation

09/20/2020

Oklahoma Capitol

As with ag-gag laws, legislators in meat-producing states including Oklahoma have passed hastily-drafted legislation to appease beef producers regarding labeling of meat substitutes.

The Oklahoma Meat Consumer Protection Act scheduled to take effect on November 1st is now the subject of a challenge by the Plant Based Foods Association. The plaintiff claims that the food labeling law is a violation of the First Amendment.

On first glance it would appear that Oklahoma legislators went overboard requiring that "products derived from plant-based sources indicate origin in a type face uniform in size and prominence to the brand name of the product". Upton's Naturals, a co-plaintiff clearly marks products as "vegan" with disclaimers that products do not contain meat.

By the same token, manufacturers of vegetable-based meat substitutes should refrain from using descriptors normally associated with red meat such as ‘jerky’, ‘bacon’, ‘burgers’, ‘meatballs’ and other terms that may create confusion. Labeling is extremely important as supermarkets are now displaying alternatives to meat in coolers alongside real meat products.

It is anticipated that over the next five years the issue of labeling in relation to meat and vegetable-based substitutes will be resolved. What is needed is uniform federal legislation clearly defining what is meant by "meat", presumably derived from animals to differentiate from plant-based substitutes. Legislation will also have to address the issue of hybrid products that contain both real meat and vegetable-based extenders.