In August of last year, cultivated chicken producer UPSIDE Foods joined forces with the Institute for Justice to file a lawsuit against Florida’s cultivated meat ban.
As reported by Courthouse News Service, UPSIDE claims that Florida cannot impose limits on interstate trade due to the US Constitution’s Commerce Clause. The company says only the federal government can regulate poultry products under the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA).
In April of this year, UPSIDE Foods was granted a first-round victory when Chief Judge Mark Walker of the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida denied an attempt by the government to dismiss the legal challenge. This meant that the case would proceed to the trial court. However, many of UPSIDE’s claims were ultimately dismissed by Walker, who said any violation of the PPIA would have to be brought by the federal government.
Earlier this week, the company appeared at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, requesting that its challenge be allowed to proceed. But US District Judge Paul Huck appeared to support the lower court’s decision, reiterating that only the government could bring a case regarding the PPIA. In response, Institute for Justice attorney Paul Sherman argued that UPSIDE was attempting to enforce its rights to be subject to the federal regulatory scheme, claiming that the court frequently hears this type of case.
Is cultivated chicken a poultry product?
The three-judge appellate panel also considered whether federal poultry law was relevant to UPSIDE. Sherman asserted that the definition of poultry products is broad, and could be considered to include cultivated chicken because poultry cells are used in the production process. But US Circuit Judge Andrew Brasher argued that since the cells extracted from poultry are not directly present in the final product, cultivated chicken should not qualify as poultry.
Meanwhile, Jason Muehlhoff, representing the state, said UPSIDE Foods would not be able to bring a preliminary injunction against the ban because the company had not been prosecuted under the law. He added that it would be a “high bar” to prove that the PPIA granted rights to UPSIDE.
Florida became the first state to ban cultivated meat in May of last year. Since then, several other states have followed suit, including Texas, Indiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. UPSIDE Foods and the Institute for Justice have also filed a lawsuit against Texas’s ban, in partnership with cultivated seafood producer Wildtype.
“Texas has always been a state with a ‘live-and-let-live’ mentality — especially when it comes to the kitchen,” said Sherman. “No one is forcing Texans to eat anything they don’t want. But at the same time, the government shouldn’t prevent Texans from eating something they do want.”
