A Florida state law banning the sale of lab-grown meat is being challenged in federal court in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
The Institute for Justice and UPSIDE Foods are suing the state over the law, which was passed earlier this year, claiming that the state violated the Constitution by imposing the measure, according to a Press release.
The Institute for Justice (IJ), a nonprofit public interest law firm, today filed a lawsuit challenging a recently enacted Florida law that prohibits the production, distribution and sale of cultured meat, an creative product that offers consumers the taste of meat grown directly from real animal cells without the need to farm or kill animals.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, argues that Florida’s ban violates provisions of the Constitution prohibiting protectionist measures designed to favor companies in the state at the expense of competitors from other states. By targeting cultured meat produced outside Florida, the law is designed to protect local meat producers from competition and undermine the principles of a national common market.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed the law in May. It bans and criminalizes the production and sale of cultured meat in the Sunshine State.
The bill joins similar efforts by three other states – Alabama, Arizona and Tennessee – that have also tried to stop the sale of lab-grown meat, saying it will take years to become commercially viable.
“Florida is fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat raised in petri dishes or insects to achieve their authoritarian goals,” DeSantis said. “We will save our beef.”
Lab-grown meat, also called cultured meat, has attracted considerable attention in recent years as startups have raised millions of dollars to improve the technology that aims to create a climate-friendly alternative to classic meat sources. Cultured meat is typically grown in a metal vessel from a sample of animal cells. They multiply in a container called a bioreactor while being fed water, amino acids, vitamins and lipids — a process that can be tough on such a vast scale to produce enough food for commercial sale.
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UPSIDE Foods is a leading cultured meat company founded by cardiologist Dr. Uma Valeti to develop a more humane and sustainable way of producing meat.
UPSIDE’s chicken has been green-lighted by both the FDA and USDA, confirming its safety and quality. And because it’s raised in a controlled environment, the process can reduce the risk of food-borne illness, contamination, and other problems common in state-of-the-art animal agriculture.
“Anyone who wants to try cultured meat should have the opportunity to do so,” said Uma Valeti, founder of UPSIDE Foods. “Our mission is to provide a delicious, safe and ethical alternative to conventional meat, and we believe Floridians deserve the freedom to make their own food choices. Cultured meat represents a significant advancement in food technology and has the potential to improve supply chain resilience, and we are committed to making it accessible to everyone.”
During a press conference, Valeti and Paul Sherman, senior staff attorney for the Institute for Justice, argued that Florida’s ban was a form of economic protectionism driven by local ranching interests rather than legitimate public health concerns.
“Protecting one’s own state’s favored interests from competition from other states is not a legitimate use of state power. In fact, a driving goal behind the adoption of the Constitution was to ensure the creation of a common national market so that consumers across the country could enjoy the benefits of free trade among the states,” Sherman said.
Valeti argued that the law limits consumer choice by banning the sale of lab-grown meat, stressing that people should have the freedom to decide whether to consume the product.
“We want to give consumers a choice that allows them to eat either cultured or conventional meat. Any choice they can make in the future to keep pace with the demand for meat, which will double by 2050,” said UPSIDE CEO.
Sherman and Valeti both disputed claims that cultured meat is threatening. “Florida’s law has nothing to do with protecting public health and safety. Both the USDA and FDA have given Upside Foods the green light to sell their product across the country,” Sherman said.
Valeti agreed, arguing that “the sale of cultured meat in the state of Florida does not pose a health and safety issue” and that the FDA and USDA “have confirmed the safety of our cultured meat.”
The Institute for Justice plans to file a motion for a preliminary injunction to allow UPSIDE Foods to continue operating in Florida while the case is heard.
