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by Causes | 2.23.18

\nUPDATE – August 28, 2018:

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Missouri just became the first state to regulate the use of the word “meat.”

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Specifically, the new rule says that if a food product isn’t from an actual cow, chicken, pig, turkey, or other animal with two or four feet, then it can’t be marketed as meat.

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Violators may be fined $1,000 and imprisoned for a year.

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On Monday, the company that makes Tofurky – along with other interested groups – filed an injunction in a Missouri federal court to prevent enforcement of the statute, alleging the state has received no complaints about consumers befuddled by the term “plant-based meats,” and that preventing manufacturers from using the word is a violation of their First Amendment rights.

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Plus, it pointed out, “meat” also refers to the edible part of nuts and fruit.

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The Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, which supported the statute, said it’s not terribly concerned with plant-based companies such as Tofurky. It takes bigger issue with newer science developing lab-grown meat, which it believes needs to be disclosed to consumers once available.

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According to an Israeli startup called Future Meat Technologies, which just got a large investment from (animal) meat giant Tyson Foods, that reality isn’t too far away. “Clean meat” produced in a lab from animal cells may be in restaurants by the end of 2018.

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—Sara E. Murphy

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Countable's original story appears below.

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What’s the story?

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The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) filed a 15-page petition with the USDA to prevent products from being labeled as \"meat\" or \"beef\" unless they’re made from a slaughtered animal.

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The ranchers are asking that the U.S. Department of Agriculture differentiate conventional meat from what’s known as “clean meat”—that grown in a lab using animal cells.

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Why does it matter?

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The USCA writes in their petition:

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\"[The government] should require that any product labeled as ‘beef’ come from cattle that have been born, raised, and harvested in the traditional manner, rather than coming from alternative sources such as a synthetic product from plant, insects, or other non-animal components and any product grown in labs from animal cells.\"
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The country’s ranchers mention various startups that are working to bring lab-grown meat to the marketplace, including Beyond Meat, Memphis Meats, and Mosa Meats.

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Business Insider explained that \"proponents of meat-mimicking foods like cultured meat and plant-based ‘meat’ argue that it's more environmentally friendly than raising traditional livestock.\"

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What do you think?

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Should \"meat\" be reserved for slaughtered animals? Hit Take Action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts – and tastes – below.

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—Josh Herman

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Related Reading

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(Photo Credit: Wavebreakmedia / iStock)

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