Editing Food libel laws (section)

{{short description|Laws passed in some US states to make it easier for food producers to sue their critics for libel}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{redir-dist|Food libel|Food label}}
[[File:Censored section of Green Illusions by Ozzie Zehner.jpg|thumb|right|320px|All copies of the environmental book ''[[Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism|Green Illusions]]'' sold in the United States were self-censored due to concerns about food libel laws that enable the damages to be awarded when a court rules that someone has made libelous statements about a food product.]]

'''Food libel laws''', also known as '''food disparagement laws''' and informally as '''veggie libel laws''', are laws passed in thirteen [[United States|U.S.]] states that make it easier for food producers to sue their critics for [[libel]]. These thirteen states are the following: [[Alabama]], [[Arizona]], [[Colorado]], [[Florida]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Idaho]], [[Louisiana]], [[Mississippi]], [[North Dakota]], [[Ohio]], [[Oklahoma]], [[South Dakota]], and [[Texas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cspinet.org/foodspeak/laws/existlaw.htm|title=Food-Disparagement Laws: State Civil & Criminal Statutes|date=March 19, 1998|website=FoodSpeak|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623065112/http://cspinet.org/foodspeak/laws/existlaw.htm|archive-date=June 23, 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=December 31, 2003}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=November 2023|?=yes|reason=Source is over 20 years old; is this still current?}} Many of the food-disparagement laws establish a lower standard for civil liability and allow for punitive damages and attorney's fees for [[plaintiff]]s alone, regardless of the case's outcome.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.cspinet.org/foodspeak/oped/candm.htm|title=Veggie-Libel Law Still Poses a Threat|author=Collins, Ronald|date=1998-03-23|access-date=2009-12-28}}</ref>

These laws vary significantly from state to state, but food libel laws typically allow a food manufacturer or processor to sue a person or group who makes disparaging comments about their food products. In some states these laws also establish different standards of proof than are used in traditional American libel lawsuits, including the practice of placing the [[Burden of proof (law)|burden of proof]] on the party being sued.<ref name="auto"/>

An example of the situation is the ''New York Times'' reporting about "facts from a study showing the amounts of lead found in over-the-counter calcium supplements" being censored.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
   |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/01/business/farmers-right-to-sue-grows-raising-debate-on-food-safety.html
   |title=Farmers' Right to Sue Grows, Raising Debate on Food Safety}}</ref>