Law, College of
Nebraska Law Bulletin (Selected Issues)
Date of this Version
9-13-2021
Document Type
Article
Citation
Nebraska Law Bulletin (September 13, 2021)
Abstract
This Essay addresses what I have elsewhere called “Tag-Gag” Laws—laws that regulate and restrict how companies can label and advertise plant-based meat products. Plant-based meat is food made entirely from plants that replicates the taste and texture of animal meat. As plant-based meat sales have grown exponentially in recent years, increasing numbers of states have passed Tag-Gag laws; companies selling plant-based meat, in turn, have challenged these laws in court. When covering these lawsuits, the media often (and understandably) lumps them altogether. If a plant-based company wins a preliminary injunction against a state law, it is viewed as a victory for plant-based foods in the labeling wars; if a state survives a preliminary injunction, the media reports the opposite. But not all Tag-Gag laws are created equal, and this Essay draws attention to their important differences. It identifies and categorizes three Tag-Gag variants and discusses how each variant has different legal ramifications. It also proposes specific approaches that companies can follow when challenging the different categories of Tag-Gag laws.
Comments
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