Vegetarian steaks and burgers, a new culinary trend in the United States, recorded a first judicial victory on Wednesday, December 11, in their fight to use meat references on their labels. Federal court suspended Arkansas law to ban words 'Meat', but also "Sausage", "Roast" or "Burger", in the presentation of this type of products, even followed by mentions "Vegetarian" "Herbal" or " vegan ".
The law, which came into effect in July, provided for fines of $ 1,000 per mislabelled product. Tofurky, which produces an ersatz with roast turkey ('Turkey' in English) based on tofu, filed a complaint in July in the name of the defense of freedom of expression, guaranteed by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
"When consumers choose herbal products, they do not because they are misled, but because they are aware of the health and environmental consequences of consuming animal products"said Tofurky's boss Jaime Athos. Kristine Baker, a federal judge in Little Rock, ruled Wednesday that "Tofursky had chances to win on the bottom" and that he "Suffer irreparable harm" if the law remained in force. She therefore suspended her pending a substantive examination of the case.
A flourishing industry in the United States
Legal action has also been taken against similar laws passed in Missouri, Mississippi and Louisiana, with support from the powerful ACLU Civil Rights Association, The Good Food Vegetable Support NGO. Institute and the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
"We are pleased that the court has blocked this clearly unconstitutional effort to stifle competition with censorship. Parliaments that have adopted or consider such absurd laws should take note of them. "responded ACLU lawyer Brian Hauss.
While soybean has been around for a long time, companies have taken the next step by using sophisticated technologies to get as close as possible to the taste, color, smell or texture of the meat.
For some time now, wheat burgers, tofu hot dogs and other chicken fillets have been gaining acceptance in American fast food and supermarket shelves. According to the Good Food Institute, sales of alternatives to meat jumped 23% in 2018 in the United States amid concerns about the environment, animal welfare and health.
