Gregory Meyer reported earlier this week at The Financial Times Online that, “US states that raise cattle and poultry are trying to fence in the fast-growing alternative meat industry.
“Wyoming, Oklahoma and South Dakota are among the states working to control the labelling of meat substitutes as the products appear in more restaurants and supermarkets.
“Their efforts address an industry that threatens sales of beef, pork and chicken. Alternative meats could grow to become 10 per cent of the $1.4tn global meat industry over the next 10 years, according to Barclays.”
Mr. Meyer stated that, “Among the states passing labelling laws, Oklahoma, Missouri, South Dakota, Montana, Kentucky and North Dakota rank in the top 10 for beef cattle inventory, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
“Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and South Carolina are in the top 10 for broiler chickens. Some of the laws address plant-based meat substitutes, while others regulate only cultured meats grown from tissue cells, which are not yet on the market.”
The FT article added that, “‘The cattlemen are quite concerned,’ said Doug Farquhar, programme director for environmental health at the National Conference of State Legislatures. ‘If you are able to grow this stuff rather than raise cattle, you are going to turn this entire market on its head.'”
