Last week, bipartisan legislation was introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate to increase the transparency of plant-based and cell-cultured protein products.
The Fair and Accurate Ingredient Representation on Labels Act of 2024, or FAIR Labels Act, introduced by Republicans Representative Mark Alford of Missouri and Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, would require additional disclaimers and give the USDA more authority to ensure accurate labeling of plant-based and cell-cultured protein products.
“Consumers deserve to be able to easily understand what products they are putting in their grocery cart,” said Senator Marshall in a press release. “It’s pretty simple: if food is represented as meat or poultry but is either lab-grown or made from a plant protein, it should be prominently displayed on the label. Distinguishing between a ‘black bean burger’ and an actual beef burger shouldn’t be hard. But, as other meat alternatives with misleading names continue to appear on shelves, we need to do more to ensure the transparency of imitation meats versus the real farm-raised meats.”
The legislation would amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act to define these products as "imitation" and require them to be labeled as such. A disclaimer like “imitation” that says the food is derived from sources other than meat would be required on plant-based product labels and the words ‘cell-cultured’ or ‘lab-grown’ on those products.
The bill is co-sponsored by Democratic Representatives Don Davis of North Carolina and Jonathan Jackson of Illinois, as well as Texas Republican Congressman Roger Williams.
“We are a country of competition, and the federal government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers. Requiring accurate and honest labeling of lab-grown and cell-cultured products will create a level playing field and support the free market in the agriculture industry,” said Rep. Roger Williams. “I am proud to lead this effort alongside my colleague Mark Alford to ensure that as the imitation and lab-grown product industry grows, they are held to the same standards as traditional meat products. We cannot allow the American people and our ranching and farming communities to be taken advantage of by those who wish to manipulate them through misleading labeling."
According to Senator Rogers Marshall's press release, The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Chicken Council, American Sheep Industry Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Pork Producers Council, and National Association of State Departments of Agriculture support the measure.
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