Federal Judge to Rule Soon on Florida’s Ban on ‘Fake’ Meat Sales
TALLAHASSEE — A federal judge is set to make a swift decision on whether Florida’s new law banning the sale and manufacturing of cultivated meat should be temporarily halted.
UPSIDE Foods, a California-based company, filed a lawsuit challenging the law, arguing it is unconstitutional.
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, who presided over a two-hour hearing, indicated a quick ruling was forthcoming. “I usually don’t let grass grow on these things,” Walker said, committing to a decision before an early November deadline.
UPSIDE Foods hopes to prepare its poultry-based products for Miami Beach’s Art Basel event in December. If granted, an injunction would allow the company to sell its products while the larger legal challenge progresses.
UPSIDE Foods claims the law unfairly discriminates against out-of-state businesses and violates federal regulations. The company also plans to showcase its cultivated meat at other major events, including the South Beach Food and Wine Festival.
According to their lawsuit, Florida’s ban has impacted their “revenue, promotional opportunities, and reputation.”
The law, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis in May 2024, makes it a second-degree misdemeanor to sell or manufacture cultivated meat in the state.
DeSantis, during the bill-signing event, described the cultivated products as “fake meat” and said the law protects Florida from “an ideological agenda that wants to finger agriculture as the problem.”
UPSIDE Foods, represented by the Institute for Justice, argues the ban violates the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, as well as the “dormant” Commerce Clause.
The Supremacy Clause asserts that federal law overrides conflicting state laws, while the dormant Commerce Clause prevents states from enacting legislation that discriminates against out-of-state businesses.
David Costello, senior deputy solicitor general for the state, defended Florida’s position, asserting that the state has the authority to regulate food for public health and safety.
He emphasized that although the initial cells come from slaughtered poultry, the state considers the lab-grown meat to be fundamentally different. “What is grown in lab settings is a different product,” Costello argued.
Despite the legal battle, cultivated meat has been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, allowing UPSIDE Foods to manufacture and distribute its products nationwide, including at tasting events in Florida.
Florida’s ban mirrors similar laws passed in Alabama and proposed in states like Kentucky and Texas. The legal outcome in Florida could have widespread implications for the burgeoning cultivated meat industry across the country.
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