In May, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill banning the sale or cultivation of lab-grown meat in the state. The ban was explicitly framed as an effort to stave off potential competition for Florida livestock producers.
"We must protect our incredible farmers and the integrity of American agriculture," Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson said in a May press release. "Lab-grown meat is a disgraceful attempt to undermine our proud traditions and prosperity, and is in direct opposition to authentic agriculture."
However, a lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of lab-grown meat producer UPSIDE Foods seeks to challenge this ban, arguing that it violates preexisting federal regulations.
"UPSIDE doesn't want to force anyone to eat cultivated meat," the suit reads. "But it does want the opportunity to distribute its product to willing consumers, so that those consumers can decide for themselves whether UPSIDE's product is worth eating."
According to the lawsuit, which was brought forth by the public-interest law firm Institute for Justice (I.J.), the ban violates two federal laws, the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA). Both laws prohibit states from placing "ingredient requirements" other than those prescribed in the law. They also bar states from making any other rules "with respect to premises, facilities and operations of any establishment at which inspection is provided under" the FMIA or the PPIA.
To I.J., this means Florida's ban violates the Constitution's "Supremacy Clause because it is expressly preempted by federal laws regulating meat and poultry products," the suit reads, adding that the law was "enacted with the express purpose of insulating Florida agricultural businesses from innovative, out-of-state competition like UPSIDE."
Florida's ban was explicitly written to protect Florida meat producers from possible competition from lab-grown meat producers. While not every consumer wants slaughter-free meat, those interested in trying meat alternatives should be free to do so.
"The ban was enacted after intense lobbying by cattle interests, and its anticompetitive purpose is no secret. For example, Florida's Commissioner of Agriculture, who is a farmer, openly praised the ban for protecting the state's cattle industry, and Gov. DeSantis announced the signing from behind a podium bearing a sign that read 'Save Our Beef,'" a Tuesday press release from I.J. reads. "But protecting in-state agricultural interests from innovative out-of-state competition is not a legitimate use of government power. Indeed, a major reason for adopting the U.S. Constitution was to ensure a national common market."
Laws like Florida's stifle innovation and competition in the guise of "protecting" consumers. The only issue is that no one needs to be protected by products like UPSIDE's. Instead of letting consumers decide whether lab-grown meat succeeds or fails, DeSantis and his allies are attempting—unconstitutionally, according to I.J.—to determine the result.
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