Plant-based food makers new regulation says they can keep calling their products ‘meat’ in Mississippi
The change is the result of a First Amendment lawsuit brought against the state by Upton's Naturals and the Plant Based Foods Association, with the Institute for Justice.
CARMEN REINICKE: ‘It may soon be legal to call a veggie burger a veggie burger in Mississippi… A new regulation proposed by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture reverses an earlier labelling law that made it a crime for vegan companies to use words like “burger” “bacon” and “hot dog” on products not derived from animal protein.
The change is the result of a First Amendment lawsuit brought against the state by Upton’s Naturals and the Plant Based Foods Association, with the Institute for Justice. Upton’s sued the state of Mississippi saying that the regulation violated its First Amendment right to label food in a way consumers understand.
Upton’s filed the lawsuit because “business have the right to tell the truth,” said Justin Pearson, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, in an interview with Markets Insider. “Customers understand that foods labelled as meatless do not contain meat.” The new rule is a win for companies such as Upton’s and Beyond Meat, which make plant-based meat alternatives and rely heavily on converting meat eaters to be regular consumers. The market for plant-based meat is currently $14 billion in the US, and analysts say it could grow to be $140 billion in a decade’. SOURCE…
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