EU Lawmakers Vote to Ban Meat-Related Names for Plant-Based Foods
In a major decision this week, European Parliament members decided by a margin of 355-247 to restrict product terms including "burger" and "sausage" solely for animal-derived foods.
The Decision Means
Should this proposal is implemented, common vegetarian products like veggie burgers, soy steak, and cauliflower schnitzel could have to be renamed across EU markets.
Nevertheless, for the restriction to be enforced, it needs to gain support from a majority of the EU's 27 countries, which remains uncertain.
The Arguments Behind the Proposal
Proponents argue that consumers require transparent information and while traditional names must exclusively refer to products derived from livestock.
"A steak or a sausage are products from our livestock: not laboratory art or vegetable sources," said French MEP CĂ©line Imart.
Critics, including environmental lawmakers, described the move populist tactics.
"Plant-based burgers, wheat schnitzel and soy sausage do not confuse consumers, only rightwing politicians," declared Austria's lawmaker Thomas Waitz.
Past Efforts and Legal Context
This isn't the first attempt to regulate such names. EU lawmakers voted down a comparable prohibition in four years ago.
France earlier introduced a national restriction on meat terms for plant-based foods in 2020, but the European court of justice ruled it invalid under EU law in this year.
Business and Consumer Response
Major German retailers including Aldi and Lidl oppose the measure, warning that changing established terms would confuse shoppers.
Consumer groups cite surveys showing that the majority of shoppers comprehend these names as long as products are properly identified as vegan.
"Nearly seventy percent of consumers understand these names as long as products are explicitly labelled vegan or vegetarian," said Irina Popescu, a consumer officer at BEUC.
What Next
The proposal now requires consideration by European governments, where it must secure broad support to become law.
Given the mixed opinions within both politicians and the public, the outcome of the proposal is still unclear.
