Iowa Senate passes bill saying veggie burgers can't be labeled 'meat' without qualifiers

Lab-grown meat and plant-based meat alternatives could not be labeled as meat without including qualifying phrases like "meatless" or "imitation" on their labels under a bill that passed the Iowa Senate unanimously on Tuesday.

Sen. Dawn Driscoll, R-Williamsburg, dubbed the bill "the meat integrity act" and said it would protect Iowa's livestock farmers from unfair competition from lab-grown meats and plant-based meat alternatives like Impossible Burgers and Beyond Burgers.

"Lab-grown products are emerging technology," Driscoll said. "And the fair labels act is an important first step for making sure that consumers understand the difference between lab-grown or plant-based products and real beef, pork, turkey, lamb, goat and chickens raised by farmers and ranchers."

The bill, Senate File 2391, passed the Iowa Senate on a 49-0 vote. It now goes to the Iowa House for consideration.

The measure would prohibit food processing facilities from labeling meat alternatives like insect-based or plant-based substitutes as meat, and would also ban the use of common words like "burger," "drumstick" and "bacon" to describe meat alternatives, unless the product's label also includes a qualifying term like "meatless," "plant-based" or "veggie."

The bill would apply only to food processing facilities, and would not impact grocery stores.

The bill says that if the U.S. Department of Agriculture ever approves lab-grown meat to be purchased as part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or the special supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) that the state must submit a waiver seeking to exclude those products from what can be purchased using food assistance dollars.

"This is a preventative measure against an activist federal government who wants to see our children eat from a Petri dish," said Driscoll, as Democrats audibly laughed.

Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, unsuccessfully offered an amendment to the bill that would have struck the portion of the bill dealing with food assistance programs, saying it unfairly prevents people receiving public assistance from buying food that anyone else could buy.

"Why restrict because they’re on food assistance?" Bisignano said. "It makes no sense. It divides and it labels people, and this would just allow them to buy the same things that you or I would be able to do."

An Iowa food processing facility that misbrands a lab-grown meat product would face a civil penalty of between $500 and $10,000 per offense. The state Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing or a county inspector could inspect food processing facilities if they receive a complaint.

The bill also requires the Iowa Board of Regents as well as community colleges and school districts in the state to implement policies banning them from buying lab-grown meats.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.