A lawsuit against Florida over its ban on lab-grown meat is moving forward. U.S. Federal Judge Mark Walker ruled Friday, April 25, that Upside Foods, a California company that produces lab-grown poultry products, can proceed with its effort to sue the Sunshine State.
Walker ruled that Upside Foods had shown enough evidence supporting its accusations that Florida’s ban on lab-grown meats violates the dormant commerce clause, a statute that “prevents States from adopting protectionist measures and thus preserves a national market for goods and services,” as written by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019.
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In rejecting Florida’s efforts to get the lawsuit dismissed, Walker added that Upside “has plausibly alleged that Florida’s ban violates the dormant commerce clause by discriminating in effect against interstate commerce through excluding out-of-state businesses and products from Florida’s market to protect in-state businesses against a projected decline in market share.”
What did Upside’s legal team say?
Paul Sherman, an attorney representing Upside in its lawsuit, tells Reason, “One of the primary reasons for the enactment of the Constitution was to secure a national common market,” adding, “Today’s ruling is an important vindication of the principle that states cannot close their borders to innovative out-of-state competition.”
What does the lawsuit stem from?
The lawsuit, filed in August, followed Florida’s ban on lab-grown meat, which took effect last spring.
In announcing the ban, Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “Take your lab-grown meat elsewhere.”
What is lab-grown meat?
As Straight Arrow News previously reported, lab-grown meat is a meat alternative made from animal stem cells. While environmentalists tout its reduction in pollution and argue it’s the future of food, some remain skeptical.
What do critics of lab-grown meat say?
Critics of lab-grown meat, like DeSantis, contend it hurts traditional farmers. Similar debates have taken hold in Alabama, Arizona and Tennessee. DeSantis says it threatens the existence of traditional agriculture, and lawmakers who support the effort say if people want to eat lab-grown meat, they should “go to California.”
What does Florida’s law do?
Florida’s law against lab-grown meat, also known as SB-1084, makes it illegal to produce or sell “any meat or product produced from cultured animal cells.”
Penalties for violating the law, which is a second-degree misdemeanor, include a maximum fine of $500 and up to two months in jail. Grocery stores or food establishments caught in violation can also have their operating license revoked and face fines of up to $5,000.
DeSantis said in reference to the ban, “Florida is fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat lab-grown meat and insects.” DeSantis added, “Our administration will continue to focus on investing in local farmers and ranchers, and we will save our beef.”
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson also championed the effort, saying, “Florida is taking a tremendous step in the right direction by signing first-in-nation legislation banning lab-grown meat. We must protect our incredible farmers and the integrity of American agriculture.”
What is Upside Foods saying?
Upside Foods notes that DeSantis never raised safety concerns about its product, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved. They say this shows it’s strictly trying to restrict business.
The company also says Florida has other options to mandate disclosures of lab-grown meat if it wants to promote traditional beef and chicken products. However, they say the choice should ultimately be up to the customer.
In a statement, the company said it “doesn’t want to force anyone to eat cultivated meat,” adding, “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. And UPSIDE has a right to do so, because SB 1084 is unconstitutional.”
