Appeals Court Upholds Missouri’s Fake Meat Labelling Law

The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s decision to deny an injunction against a Missouri state law requiring products labelled meat to come from livestock and poultry. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced victory in a statement released Monday by his office, saying that his office will continue to defend the labelling law against further appeals or challenges. The “fake meat law” was enacted by the Missouri General Assembly in 2018, which criminalizes the misrepresentation of a product as meat that is not derived from harvested production livestock or poultry. Turtle Island Foods, the makers of Tofurky, filed suit shortly before the law took effect, but a district court had denied their request for an injunction. Two of the three appellate judges who heard the case agreed with the lower court. In the lone dissent, the third judge suggested that because Tofurky makes clear that their product is not meat, their lawsuit should be remanded back to the lower court with instructions to dismiss for lack of standing.