On his last day in office on Friday, June 1, resigning Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens signed several pieces of legislation, including a bill banning lab-based or vegetable protein products from being called “meat.”
The “fake meat” law is the first in the nation by a state after the legislation easily passed both chambers of the Missouri Legislature. The law prevents foods that do not come from traditionally-raised livestock or poultry from being called “meat.”
On a federal level, a petition filed by the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association seeks a comparable ruling by USDA. The petition asks the department to exclude products from being classified as meat or beef if the product did not come from an animal that was raised and slaughtered.
The Missouri bill was backed by the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association and Missouri Farm Bureau but was opposed by companies that market vegetarian products similar to traditional meat.
“This isn’t a Missouri issue,” Mike Deering, executive director of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, said in a statement when the bill passed in mid-May.
“This is about protecting the integrity of the products that farm and ranch families throughout the country work hard to raise each and every day.
“I never imagined we would be fighting over what is and isn’t meat. It seems silly. However, this is very real, and I cannot stress enough the importance of this issue. We are beyond pleased to see this priority legislation cross the finish line.”
Greitens also signed a law allowing Missouri farmers to grow, sell, and process industrial hemp under a pilot project led by the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Missouri is now among at least 35 states that allow at least some form of production and processing of hemp, according the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Greitens signed 77 bills on Friday, his last day in office after resigning earlier this week following a scandal that led to criminal charges and the beginnings of an impeachment investigation in the state before the governor opted to step down. Greitens will be replaced by Lt. Gov. Mike Parson. — Chris Clayton, DTN
“I never imagined we would be fighting over what is and isn’t meat. It seems silly. However, this is very real, and I cannot stress enough the importance of this issue.”
