In August 2018, Tofurky sued Missouri to defend its right to use words like "sausage" and "hot dogs" to describe its products, as long as other packaging made it clear that they were derived from plants.
The Missouri law prohibits misrepresenting any product as meat if it does not come from a slaughtered animal.
A group of organizations including the ACLU of Missouri banded together to challenge the law. A year later, litigation is continuing on after a failed attempt to reach a settlement, reports FoodNavigator USA.
Upton's Naturals Co, a vegan meat maker based in Chicago, is sued Mississippi's governor and commissioner of agriculture over a law that went into effect on July 1. The law restricts them from using words like "meatless meatballs," "hot dogs," and "veggie burgers" to describe their products. It also says that companies would have to pay huge fines for products not labeled in accordance to the law.
"It creates a logistical nightmare and huge cost," Michele Simon, the executive director of the Plant Based Foods Association, a trade group, told Markets Insider in an interview.
In July, Tofurky sued Arkansas for labeling laws similar to those seen in Mississippi and Missouri. The Arkansas law, set to go into effect at the end of July, also says that products labeled "cauliflower rice" and "almond milk" would also be mislabeled and could be fined for not being made from actual rice or dairy.
"The only confusion here seems to be on the part of the Arkansas legislature, which seems to have forgotten its responsibility to its constituents in its rush to pass an unconstitutional law at the behest of its special interest donors," said Jaime Athos, CEO of Tofurky in a press release.
He continued: "When consumers choose plant-based foods, it is not because they are confused or misled, it is because they are savvy and educated about the health and environmental consequences of eating animal products.
"What's really going on here is that the state of Arkansas is seeking to limit access to healthier, more sustainable food choices for its constituents, and it is doing so to benefit the animal agriculture industry."
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