JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri lawmakers have approved legislation that bans companies from labeling lab-grown meat products or meat substitutes as meat.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the provision approved Thursday states that a product cannot be marketed as meat if it isn't derived from an animal with two or four feet. It's part of a package of changes to state agriculture and conservation laws on its way to the governor's desk.
The legislation is backed by the state's pork producers, the Missouri Farm Bureau and the Missouri Cattlemen's Association.
Republican Rep. Jeff Knight of Lebanon sponsored the legislation. He says it's not meant to mislead anyone, but to protect a product.
Missouri would be the first state to address the fake meat issue if the measure is signed into law.