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European Parliament Vote to Prohibit Meat-Based Names for Plant-Based Foods
During a major vote on Wednesday, MEPs decided by a margin of 355-247 to reserve product terms including "burger" and "schnitzel" solely for meat products.
The Vote Signifies
Should the measure becomes law, common plant-based items such as veggie burgers, soy steak, and vegetable schnitzel could need to change their names across EU countries.
However, for the restriction to be enforced, it needs to gain approval from most of the 27 EU member states, something that is far from certain.
Key Debate Surrounding the Proposal
Proponents contend that customers require transparent labeling and while meat terms must exclusively describe products from livestock.
"A steak or a sausage are goods from our livestock: not from laboratory art nor plant products," said France's lawmaker the proposal's author.
Opponents, including environmental lawmakers, called the decision populist tactics.
"Plant-based burgers, seitan schnitzel and tofu sausage don't mislead shoppers, only certain lawmakers," said Austria's Green MEP Thomas Waitz.
Previous Efforts and Legal Background
This isn't the first effort to regulate such terminology. EU lawmakers rejected a comparable prohibition in 2020.
France previously enacted a domestic ban on meat terms for plant-based foods in 2020, but the European court of justice ruled it illegal under EU law in this year.
Business and Public Response
Major Germany's retailers including Aldi and Lidl object to the proposal, warning that changing familiar terms would confuse consumers.
Advocacy organizations cite surveys indicating that most shoppers comprehend product labels when items are clearly identified as vegetarian.
"Almost 70% of consumers understand these names provided items are explicitly labelled vegan or vegetarian," said Irina Popescu, a food policy officer at BEUC.
What Following the Vote
This proposal next faces review by European governments, and it needs to obtain majority approval to become law.
Given the divided opinions within various politicians and the general population, the outcome of this initiative remains unclear.
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