Could a Texas Law Rename the New York Strip Steak?

A New York strip steak does not refer to cuts of meat from cattle raised in the Empire State. Instead, it’s the name of a very specific cut of steak that chefs and diners alike have savored over the years. Except now, another large state has taken umbrage with that nomenclature — and now seems to be on the verge of taking legal action to back it up. Could steakhouse menus across the nation soon see the debut of the Texas strip steak?

Eater’s Melissa McCart reports that next week, the state government of Texas will debate a bill that would rename the iconic cut for the Lone Star State. Precisely how far this proposed bill would go isn’t clear — according to McCart, it “would request but not require” that privately-owneed businesses in Texas use the proposed new nomenclature. But it has prompted several New York lawmakers to venture to Texas to defend the status quo.

What’s behind this proposed change? Last month in The New York Times, Pete Wells explored the origins of the conflict, which began when Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick suggested it as a way to boost the profile of his state’s ranchers. As you might guess, there was also a bit of culture war phrasing in Patrick’s proposal.

“Liberal New York shouldn’t get the credit for our hard-working ranchers,” he wrote on social media. “We promote the Texas brand on everything made or grown in Texas because it benefits our economy and jobs.”

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As Eater’s reporting on the proposal points out, there’s another reason why Texas’s government might want to boost the profile of their cattle ranchers: those ranchers could be adversely affected by tariffs. Texas has historically sent a lot of beef to China; the prospect of a trade war could upset that balance and economically harm the state’s ranchers. Even if the bill does pass, however, it’s unclear what impact — if any — it would have outside of Texas.