Is cauliflower rice really rice? Many lawmakers in rice-growing states say no.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, a bill blocking companies from putting a “rice” label on products not made from grains of rice moving quickly through the Louisiana Legislature is similar to legislation making its way through other rice-producing states like Texas, Mississippi, Missouri and California. Arkansas already signed a “rice” label policy into law in March.
It is the latest salvo from traditional agriculture groups and their supporters, who say makers of plant-based alternatives like cauliflower rice—made from bits of cauliflower—almond milk and nonmeat hamburgers are causing confusion with their marketing. But advocates on the other side say such moves won’t stop a broad public shift to what they call healthier offerings.
As reported earlier this month in Daily Report by Jeremy Alford and Mitch Rabalais, the Louisiana bill, sponsored by a Democrat, passed unanimously in the state Senate and is now in the House. If it passes there, it would head to Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who has yet to take a position on the legislation.
The nation’s rice producers have faced shifting consumer habits, increased global competition and tariff and trade-deal challenges in recent years. This March, U.S. rice growers told the Agriculture Department they would plant about 2.9 million acres in the 2019-20 season, down about 3% from the year prior. In 2017, they produced 17.8 billion pounds of rough rice, 20% less than the 2016 harvest and much less than the 2010 harvest of 24.3 billion, according to the USDA. Read the full story.
