As a dedicated meat eater who nevertheless takes seriously the ethical concerns of people who eschew animal flesh, I am intrigued by the potential of cell-cultured protein products to address those concerns while still satisfying carnivorous cravings. But by passing a law that took effect on Monday, Texas legislators have decreed that I should never have the opportunity to try those products within the borders of the state where I live.
This presumptuous restriction on consumer choice, which follows similar bans in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Montana, Indiana, and Nebraska, should offend anyone who claims to support free markets, regardless of his dietary preferences. The Texas ban is especially galling because its rationale is forthrightly protectionist, with no plausible consumer safety justification. And according to a lawsuit that two California producers of cultured protein filed this week in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the ban is also illegal and unconstitutional because it is preempted by federal law and creates an interstate trade barrier that aims to shield Texas businesses from competition.
The Texas ban "is about one thing: protecting in-state agricultural interest from innovative, out-of-state competition," says the Institute for Justice, which represents the plaintiff businesses, Wild Type and Upside Foods. "That's not just wrong, it's unconstitutional."
