There is a big debate on if the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) should regulate what plant-based meats are labeled. This big debate arose in 2019 and has been ongoing ever since. Plant-based meats are foods that are made up of plants containing protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. Impossible, Beyond, and Everything Legendary are just a few names that furnish meat substitutes these days.
In 2018, Missouri became the first state to pass a law restricting the word meat. The new law prohibits many products — including plant-based and cellular meat — from identifying themselves as “meat.” Since the new passage of the law, thirty other states have followed suit including Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Wyoming, etc. In many cases, violations could lead to criminal prosecution. You can receive a $2,000 fine and spend up to a year in jail.
The advocates for plant-based meats and the critic's debate have raised many meaty legal issues. The advocates believe that the regulations violate their first amendment rights. So in June, free-speech advocates, vegans, American Civil Liberties Union, Tofurky, and the Good Food Institute, sued Missouri for violating the First Amendment.
The North American Meat Association and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association believe that having a normal meat name for a non-meat product is false and deceptive marketing that will confuse consumers. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association sent out a survey to more than 1,800 consumers who represented a variety of genders, regions, and ages. This survey showed that fewer than half of them understood that plant-based beef is entirely vegan. The consumers were also very confused since vegan companies had livestock or poultry on their labels.
I think that plant-based meats can be called whatever companies want them to be but should be properly named. Whenever I hear the word meat I think of pork, chicken, and beef. So, not using meat but other alternative names could clarify what the product is.
Have you ever eaten plant-based meat?
Do you think that there should be restrictions on plant-based food labeling?
If so what should be the consequences if labeled wrong?
https://law.lclark.edu/live/blogs/136-the-fda-should-regulate-to-end-the-plant-based
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/legal-issues-false-labeling-of-plant-1636152/
https://www.motherjones.com/food/2019/01/you-can-now-be-fined-and-jailed-for-calling-this-meat/
Replies
Great topic choice and well done Cheyenne!
I have never eaten a plant based meat, but I think that the companies producing it should label it according to what it is made out of. This would help customers to not be confused about what they're buying and eating. It would also be easier for customers to figure out if they are allergic to it or not.
I agree that companies that produce a vegan product should name it according to the contents due to people having many allergies. Many people around the world are allergic to peanuts. They know not to eat Skippy Peanut Butter or even buy this product due to it clearly stating what the item contains through the name of the product.
I agree with you, many plant-based products and food labels are very confusing to people who don't know things about the labels. I think plant-based foods should have a certain different label and information to know what the people are buying. The product they are selling should be clear to the people if it is plant-based or not.
I agree with the idea that plant-based foods should have a certain label to make it well known to the public that it is vegan. Whether their label is a certain color, has a certain sticker, or even a certain name it would help the public identify a plant-based food.
I agree with you because many plant-based food labels are confusing to not only me but the public. I also strongly agree that plant-based food should have a certain name to make sure the consumer that buys it isn't allergic to the product in any way. Most plant-based meats are made up of pea protein which many people have had allergic reactions to.
I agree with you. A lot of consumers in the United States are confused because the logos on the food has a photo of livestock. Also, one in twenty people has allergic reactions to pea protein because it is in the legume family.
Yes, I have eaten plant-based meat and I like it very much. It's mostly a good alternative. In my opinion, the restrictions on labeling shouldn't be that hard. In the future our diet probably will include less meat since it is a big factor for climate change. Therefore these plant-based products are a good alternative. I think it is more about the form of the product and how you can use it. If "plant-based/vegan" is written on the product, it should be clear what it is.
I agree with your point of view that the restrictions shouldn't be extremely hard on plant-based food companies. They can label their product whatever they want but use more vegan and plant-based names instead of meat. Also, slaughterhouses only contribute to 3% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, so if we went away from slaughtering livestock it wouldn't change that much in our cllimate change.
I have never ate a plant based meat but I dont expect it to taste the same as regular meat. I think that they should be required to lable the meat according to what has been made out of. If they use the labling it would clarify what people are eating and It would be easier for people who have certain or rare allergies be able to know what they are eating.
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