Texas – America’s largest cattle-producing state – has passed State Bill 664, which will require meat alternatives to be labeled with qualifying terms such as “analogue, meatless, plant-based, made from plants” or “cell-cultured”, “lab-grown”, or similar language. According to the bill’s authors and proponents, SB 664 aims to prevent plant-based and cultivated meat companies from making misleading claims about their products and deceiving consumers.
On May 2, the bill passed the Texas state legislature and has been sent to Governor Greg Abbot for his signature.
“These bills ensure consumers are more informed and understand the source and origin of their food”
According to the Texas Farm Bureau, which supported the measure, the bill defines meat as “any edible portion of a livestock carcass that does not contain lab-grown, cell cultured, insect or plant-based food products.” The definition of livestock is limited to cattle, sheep, swine, goats and poultry.
The Bureau adds that confusion at the meat counter is an “abundant” problem, where meat and meat alternative products are highly similar and sometimes indistinguishable from one another. According to a 2020 survey conducted by the Bureau and the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, one out of every five Texans are confused by misleading meat substitute product packaging.
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