(Texas Scorecard) – Two California-based food companies have filed a lawsuit against Texas’ new law banning the sale of cell-cultured “meat,” arguing that the measure violates the U.S. Constitution.
The new law, passed as Senate Bill 261 during the regular session, took effect September 1. It prohibits the sale of cell-grown meat, with violators facing civil and criminal penalties.
Authored by State Sen. Charles Perry (R–Lubbock), the ban expires after two years but requires that cell-grown meat be clearly marked with the terms “lab-grown,” “cell-cultured,” or something similar afterward.
Plaintiffs in the case, Wildtype and UPSIDE Foods, argue in the filing that the new law violates the commerce and supremacy clauses of the U.S. Constitution. The companies claim that the law was passed to discriminate against competition from outside of Texas.
“Through SB 261, Texas has closed its border to an entirely out-of-state industry to protect Texas agriculture from lawful competition,” argues the filing.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has applauded the legislation, calling it a massive win for ranchers, producers, and consumers in the state.
“It’s plain cowboy logic that we must safeguard our real, authentic meat industry from synthetic alternatives,” said Miller after Gov. Greg Abbott approved the measure.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates, an investor in UPSIDE Foods, has been one of the most vocal liberal billionaires pushing for the research and production of alternative proteins.
Gates has called the adoption of alternative proteins the future and something every wealthy country should adopt for the sake of climate change.
Texas is the seventh state in the U.S. to pass legislation banning the sale of lab-grown meat.
Currently, of the seven states, Texas and Florida are the only states that have received legal scrutiny after passing such a ban.