Missouri Passed a Law Banning the Term ‘Meat’ for Plant-Based and Cultured Products – So GFI and Tofurky Are Suing

Big Meat and Dairy are slowly but surely dying, with more people than ever before regularly ditching meat for health, environmental, and animal welfare concerns. The younger generations, who are major contributors to the economy, are leading the movement away from meat toward plants, with around half of millennials and 79 percent of Generation Z preferring plants over meat. In general, around half of Americans surveyed would prefer slaughter-free meat and a ban on slaughterhouses.  This very significant switch in consumer habits has Big Meat and Dairy shaking in their boots seeing plant-based and “clean” meats as threats. This has led some to attempt to block these meat and dairy alternative companies from using terms like “milk” and “meat,” even though studies show consumers are not confused by the labeling.

Missouri legislators passed a law that would ban labeling products as “meat” if they do not come from a slaughtered animal, which is scheduled to go in effect today. But a coalition of organizations, including the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), the Good Food Institute, the ACLU of Missouri, and plant-based meat pioneer Tofurky, are joining forces to sue the state for passing an unconstitutional law.

Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen Wells explained, “As more and more consumers are making the conscious choice to remove animals from their plates, Missouri is putting its thumb on the scale to unfairly benefit the meat industry and silence alternative producers … This law violates various constitutional principles, including free speech — which should be a concern for everyone, regardless of diet.”

What it all boils down to is that, ultimately, this proposed law is un-American in that it is trying to impede freedom of speech and create an unjust market in favor of Big Meat. GFI Executive Director Bruce Friedrich stated, “Americans don’t like censorship, and they don’t like the government picking winners and losers in the marketplace … We’re confident that the Court will overturn this anti-competitive and unconstitutional law.”

We also hope the Court overturns this unconstitutional law! Industrialized animal agriculture has been plaguing our planet for far too long, contaminating our priceless air and water supplies, causing massive amounts of deforestation and species extinction, and contributing greatly to greenhouse gas emissions and Climate change. Factory farming is also responsible for the spread of extremely dangerous diseases and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. All of these issues have a direct and lasting impact on both our personal health and the health of the entire planet. The world needs alternative solutions to feed our ever-growing population because industrialized animal agriculture is simply unsustainable. Of course, alternative solutions also save countless innocent animals’ lives from a torturous existence and barbaric slaughter!

The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) truly does incredible work for Animal rights and the general greater good. To learn more about what they fight for and see how you can become involved in their mission, visit their website here.

And to learn how going plant-based can help benefit you and the rest of the world, check out the Eat for the Planet book here.

Image Source: Pixabay