European Parliament Decide to Ban Meat-Based Terms for Plant-Based Foods
During a major vote this week, MEPs decided 355 to 247 to restrict product terms including "steak" and "sausage" exclusively for animal-derived foods.
What the Vote Signifies
Should this proposal becomes law, popular plant-based items such as veggie burgers, soy steak, and cauliflower schnitzel may have to be renamed across European Union countries.
Nevertheless, for the ban to be enforced, it must receive support from a majority of the 27 EU countries, which remains far from certain.
The Debate Surrounding the Measure
Proponents contend that consumers require clear information and that meat terms should exclusively describe items derived from livestock.
"A steak and sausages represent goods from animal farming: not from laboratory art or plant products," said France's lawmaker the proposal's author.
Opponents, led by environmental lawmakers, described the decision pointless regulation.
"Plant-based burgers, seitan schnitzel and soy sausage don't mislead consumers, only certain lawmakers," declared Austria's Green MEP Thomas Waitz.
Past Attempts and Judicial Context
This marks another effort to control these names. EU lawmakers voted down a comparable prohibition in 2020.
The French government earlier enacted a national ban on meat terms for plant-based foods in recent years, but the European court of justice ruled it invalid under European legislation in this year.
Business and Public Response
Major German retailers such as Aldi and Lidl object to the measure, warning that changing established names would mislead consumers.
Consumer groups point to research indicating that the majority of shoppers comprehend these names when items are properly identified as vegetarian.
"Almost 70% of shoppers understand the terminology provided products are explicitly labelled vegan or vegetarian," noted Irina Popescu, a food policy expert at BEUC.
What Next
This proposal next faces review by EU member states, and it must secure broad approval to become law.
Considering the divided views within various politicians and the general population, the future of this initiative is still uncertain.
