The Institute for Justice (IJ) — a nonprofit, public interest law firm — filed a lawsuit today (Aug. 13) challenging a new Florida law that bans the production, distribution and sale of cultivated/cultured meat in the state. In doing so, the firm joins Upside Foods in opposing the law.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, argues that Florida’s ban violates the Constitution’s provisions that prohibit protectionist measures designed to favor in-state businesses at the expense of out-of-state competitors. By targeting cultured meat, which is produced outside Florida, the law seeks to protect local meat producers from competition, undermining the principles of a national common market.
The bill’s sponsors and Governor Ron DeSantis admitted as much when the bill was signed into law on May 1. It went into effect on July 1.
“If some Floridians don’t like the idea of eating cultivated chicken, there’s a simple solution: Don’t eat it,” said Paul Sherman, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice. “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.”
To bring this lawsuit, IJ partnered with Upside Foods, one of two U.S. companies that have USDA and FDA approval to develop and sell cultivated meat in the U.S. Both biotech firms are based in California and both are initially developing cultured chicken.
“Anyone who wants to try cultivated meat should have the opportunity to do so,” said Uma Valeti, the cardiologist who founded Upside Foods. “Our mission is to offer a delicious, safe and ethical alternative to conventional meat, and we believe Floridians deserve the freedom to make their own food choices. Cultivated meat represents a significant advancement in food technology with the potential to improve supply chain resilience and we are committed to making it available to all.”
“For the same reason that California cannot ban orange juice made from oranges grown in Florida, Florida cannot ban Upside’s meat,” explained IJ attorney Suranjan Sen. “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. Florida cannot ban products that are lawful to sell throughout the rest of the country simply to protect in-state businesses from honest competition.”
