UPSIDE Foods, which produced meat cultivated in laboratories, has filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Florida over its new ban on the production, distribution, and sale of lab-grown meat.
The lawsuit from UPSIDE Foods was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida. It argues that the ban is unconstitutional as it favors in-state businesses at the expense of out-of-state competitors because the lab-grown meats are not produced in Florida.
Representing the company in its lawsuit is the Institute of Justice, which said in a press release that “the law seeks to protect local meat producers from competition, undermining the principles of a national common market.”
Senior attorney for the institute Paul Sherman said, “If some Floridians don’t like the idea of eating cultivated chicken, there’s a simple solution: Don’t eat it.”
“The government has no right to tell consumers who want to try cultivated meat that they’re not allowed to. This law is not about safety; it’s about stifling innovation and protecting entrenched interests at the expense of consumer choice,” Sherman said.
The law banning the meat was signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on May 1 and took effect on July 1.
UPSIDE says that its meat is grown directly from real animal cells and is one of only two companies in the US authorized to sell cultivated meat.
In the press release from the Institute of Justice, attorneys representing the company highlighted remarks from Wilton Simpson, the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, made after announcing the law. The attorneys said Simpson’s statement “made its protectionist motivations clear.”
“We must protect our incredible farmers and the integrity of American agriculture,” Simpson said at the time, according to the IJ press release. “Together, we will keep Florida’s agricultural industry strong and thriving.”
They say the ban would be the equivalent of a hypothetical ban on Florida orange juice in any other state.
“For the same reason that California cannot ban orange juice made from oranges grown in Florida, Florida cannot ban UPSIDE’s meat,” attorney Suranjan Sen said.
Sen says that the Constitution protects companies from being discriminated against in this manner.
“A major purpose for enacting the Constitution was to prevent exactly this kind of economic protectionism, ensuring that all Americans can benefit from a free and open national market,” Sen said in the statement. “Florida cannot ban products that are lawful to sell throughout the rest of the country simply to protect in-state businesses from honest competition.”