Photo via Upside Foods
Cultivated chicken being prepared in Miami at Upside Foods “Freedom of Food” pop-up event on June 27, 2024.
UPSIDE Foods, Inc. on Friday filed a motion for a preliminary injunction as part of an underlying lawsuit that contends, in part, a federal poultry-products law preempts Florida from imposing such a ban.
The motion pointed to what is known as the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which generally leads to federal laws trumping conflicting state laws.
“An injunction will not substantially injure others, because it will not compel the state to take any action or obligate any resources, and because the state has no legitimate interest in the continued operation of an unconstitutional law,” the motion, filed in federal court in Tallahassee, said. “An injunction is in the public interest because it will permit UPSIDE to exercise its right to bring innovative products to the interstate market and allow consumers to exercise their freedom to decide for themselves what foods they want to eat.”
The Legislature this year approved the ban as part of a broader Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services bill (SB 1084), which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed on May 1.
The law, in part, makes it a second-degree misdemeanor to sell or manufacture cultivated meat, often known as lab-grown meat.
The manufacturing process includes taking a small number of cultured cells from animals and growing them in controlled settings to make food. UPSIDE Foods filed the underlying lawsuit Aug. 12.
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker will hold a scheduling conference in the case Sept. 4, according to a court docket.
After the lawsuit was filed, state Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, a key supporter of the ban, called the lawsuit “ridiculous” and said “lab-grown meat is not proven to be safe enough for consumers.”
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