European Parliament Decide to Ban Meat-Related Terms for Plant-Based Products

In a significant decision on Wednesday, European Parliament members decided 355 to 247 to restrict food names such as "burger" and "sausage" exclusively for meat products.

What the Vote Signifies

If the measure becomes law, popular vegetarian products like veggie burgers, tofu steak, and cauliflower schnitzel could need to change their names across European Union markets.

However, before the ban to take effect, it needs to gain approval from a majority of the 27 EU member states, which is far from certain.

The Arguments Behind the Proposal

Supporters argue that consumers need transparent labeling and that meat terms should only refer to products derived from animals.

"An escalope and sausages represent products from animal farming: not synthetic production or vegetable sources," said France's lawmaker Céline Imart.

Critics, including Green MEPs, described the move political maneuvering.

"Veggie burgers, wheat schnitzel and soy sausage do not confuse consumers, only rightwing politicians," declared Austrian lawmaker Thomas Waitz.

Previous Attempts and Legal Background

The isn't the first effort to control these names. The European parliament rejected a similar prohibition in 2020.

The French government previously introduced a national ban on meat terms for vegetarian products in 2020, but the European court of justice ruled it invalid under EU law in this year.

Business and Public Response

Leading German retailers such as Aldi and Lidl oppose the measure, warning that altering familiar terms would mislead shoppers.

Consumer groups point to research showing that the majority of consumers understand product labels when products are properly marked as vegan.

"Nearly seventy percent of consumers recognize these names provided products are clearly labelled vegan or vegetarian," noted Irina Popescu, a consumer officer at BEUC.

What Comes Next

The legislative measure next requires consideration by EU member states, where it needs to obtain broad support to become law.

Given the divided views among both lawmakers and the general population, the outcome of this initiative is still unclear.