Update: On December 11, 2019, the U.S. District Court granted our request for a preliminary injunction so that the law could not be enforced against our clients pending final outcome of the case.
In July 2019, the American Civil Liberties Union, The Good Food Institute, Animal Legal Defense Fund, and ACLU of Arkansas filed a lawsuit challenging an Arkansas law that would impose fines of up to $1,000 for every plant-based and cell-based meat product, such as “veggie burgers” and “tofu dogs,” marketed or packaged with a “meat” label. The labels would be subject to fines within state borders even if followed by modifiers such as “vegan,” “veggie,” or “plant-based.” Under the law, which is set to go in effect this week, products labeled as “cauliflower rice” (but not “riced cauliflower”) and “almond milk” would also be considered mislabeled and subject to fines for not containing any actual rice or dairy.