A bipartisan group of Congress members has reintroduced a bill that would ban the sale of plant-based and cultivated proteins in the US if they use meat-like terms on their product labels. The Fair Labels Act aims to restrict the labelling of alternative protein products to prevent consumer confusion and ensure transparency in marketing. The bill has garnered support from the beef industry, which argues that using meat-related terms on non-meat products can mislead consumers and harm American farmers and ranchers.

The legislation would require plant-based and cell-cultivated proteins to be clearly labelled as alternatives to traditional meat products. Terms like 'cell-cultivated protein burger' and 'ground plant-based alternative protein' would be allowed, while misleading terms like 'cruelty-free steak' and 'cultivated beef burgers' would be prohibited. The bill also addresses the shared jurisdiction of the USDA and FDA in overseeing labelling and product inspection standards, amid concerns from critics about potential censorship and constitutional issues related to the First Amendment.