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Modified ‘fake meat’ labeling bill receives Nebraska ag committee approval

A bill in the Nebraska legislature that would ban the labeling of plant-based or lab-based food products as “meat” has been modified to avoid some of the legal challenges those laws have faced in other states.

State Senator Carol Blood of Bellevue says the new bill, LB 594, acts as an amendment to the existing Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

“We decided that there’s already the infrastructure put in place, through the Department of Agriculture, should there be consumer complaints when people do have concerns about products being labeled in a deceptive fashion,” Blood says. “We wanted to make sure we weren’t reinventing the wheel. We wanted to make sure it would be something that would be harder to litigate.”

Blood says livestock groups support the new bill. “I think they’re just happy to see somebody move forward and try to address this in a way that’s going to actually work and not end up in the court for years,” she says.

The bill has passed the Agriculture Committee and awaits floor action. Blood says she hopes it will be debated this year.

AUDIO: Senator Carol Blood