Texas House Bill 316 would classify terms such as “beef” or “meat” to be used exclusively for products directly derived from animals. The proposed law, the Texas Meat and Imitation Food Act, would prevent meat alternatives from being labeled in a manner that could cause confusion between meat alternatives and traditional meat products.
The bill was introduced by Texas Rep. Brad Buckley (R-54) in late 2020. “For me it is all about truth in advertising—being truthful to your consumer,” Missy Bonds, a third-generation Texas rancher and a board member of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, told the Austin American-Statesman.
“We are not opposed to new development and new products,” Bonds said. But, “they are trying to connect our product to their product, and we want to dissociate our product from their product.”
Critics oppose the legislation for violating First Amendment rights, and similar state bills have failed as a result of the free speech amendment.
“We think it’s unfortunate that some of our elected officials are spending their time on the imaginary crisis of people confusing hamburgers for veggie burgers,” said Scott Weathers, senior policy specialist at the Good Food Institute.
