TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — Upside Foods, a cultivated meat company, and the Institute for Justice (IJ) filed a lawsuit challenging a recent Florida law prohibiting the sale of cultivated meat.

Information from the IJ said the new state law is unconstitutional because it violates provisions prohibiting protectionist measures designed to favor in-state businesses at the expense of out-of-state competitors.

“If some Floridians don’t like the idea of eating cultivated chicken, there’s a simple solution: Don’t eat it,” said Paul Sherman, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice. “The government has no right to tell consumers who want to try cultivated meat that they’re not allowed to.”

The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

“A major purpose for enacting the Constitution was to prevent exactly this kind of economic protectionism, ensuring that all Americans can benefit from a free and open national market,” said Suranhan Sen, an attorney for IJ. “Florida cannot ban products that are lawful to sell throughout the rest of the country simply to protect in-state businesses from honest competition.”

Upside Foods received label approval from the USDA in June 2023 for its products.

However, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill back in May in Florida to ban the sale of cultivated meat. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed a similar law on May 7.

“Our administration will continue to focus on investing in our local farmers and ranchers, and we will save our beef,” DeSantis said in May.

During June 2024, Republican lawmakers also co-sponsored the REAL Meat Act of 2024 that would ban the use of federal funds in various areas related to cultured meat.

Upside Foods launched under the name Memphis Meats in 2015. 

The company raised $400 million in a Series C funding round during spring 2022, bringing its valuation to more than $1 billion. It’s raised $608 million in total funding from investors, including Cargill, Tyson Foods and Givaudan.