Vegan Food vs the Meat Lobby: Unconstitutional New Labeling Law Taken to Court

As anyone who’s seen a Cheerios box or Coca-Cola bottle knows, a product’s name is often the biggest thing on it. Other words on product labels are usually much smaller, except for large warnings required to highlight dangers, like on cigarette and alcohol labels.

https://ij.org/press-release/new-lawsuit-challenges-unconstitutional-oklahoma-labeling-law-that-tries-to-herd-vegan-food-companies-out-of-the-state/

But this year, at the meat lobby’s prompting, Oklahoma will start treating safe and healthy plant-based meat alternatives like these products. Oklahoma’s new law forces plant-based food businesses to completely overhaul their labels with mandatory, oversized disclaimers. This compelled-speech requirement would have a devastating effect on companies like Upton’s Naturals—an independently owned, Chicago-based manufacturer of vegan foods. Upton’s Naturals markets its foods to consumers around the nation who are specifically looking for alternatives to meat. Unsurprisingly, Upton’s Natural’s labels proudly state that its foods are “100% Vegan.” But under Oklahoma’s so-called “Meat Consumer Protection Act”—which goes into effect on November 1, 2020—these and similar labels become illegal, with potential fines and even criminal penalties for violations. Oklahoma’s law has nothing to do with protecting consumers and everything to do with protecting the meat industry from honest competition. No reasonable consumer who buys Upton’s Naturals’ foods thinks they’re buying animal meat. Instead, people seek out these foods because they want to enjoy something tasty not made from animals. And Upton’s Naturals has a right to advertise its foods to those consumers using the plain language that consumers understand. That is why Upton’s Naturals—and the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) of which it’s a member—teamed up with the Institute for Justice to file a federal lawsuit challenging Oklahoma’s unconstitutional compelled-disclaimer requirement.
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