Texas just approved a bill banning the use of ‘Meat’ And ‘Beef’ Labels On Plant-Based And Cell-Cultured Food.
House Bill 316 was passed by lawmakers this week in order to prevent brands mislead consumers.
The bill strictly defines ‘beef’ and ‘chicken’ as ‘any edible portion of a formerly live and whole cattle/ chicken carcass, and not produced synthetic or artificial means’.
The label ‘meat’ must not contain any lab-grown, cell-cultured, insect, or plant-based food in products.
The bill started a lot of \ controversy online, with a slew of social media where users criticize the long reach of the meat industry’s influence.
Do consumers get confused by plant-based labels?
Earlier this year, a study debunks the idea that consumers get confused by ‘meat’ and ‘milk’ labels on plant-based products.
The study – conducted by Cornell University –found ‘consumers are no more likely to think that plant-based products come from an animal if the product’s name incorporates words traditionally associated with animal products than if it does not’.
Moreover, it argues ‘omitting words that are traditionally associated with animal products from the names of plant-based products actually causes consumers to be significantly more confused about the taste and uses of these products’.
Doesn’t this contradict exactly what the study was about?
