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Hood River-based Tofurky, which makes soy-based meat alternative products, filed a lawsuit July 22 challenging an Arkansas law that would fine the company for labeling its products as meat products—or using words like "burger," "sausage" or "hot dog."
The Oregon company has joined similar suits in Missouri and Mississippi.
Tofurky said in a statement the laws violate the First and 14th Amendments by "improperly censoring truthful speech and creating consumer confusion in order to shore up the state's meat and rice industries."
Tofurky president and CEO Jaime Athos says 11 states—but not Oregon—are considering laws that would prohibit meatlike language on plant-based food labels.
"We quickly realized this was not going to be a state-by-state effort," Athos tells WW. "We're trying to ultimately get a ruling that will impact more than just one state."
