EU Lawmakers Vote to Prohibit Meat-Based Names for Vegetarian Products
In a significant vote this week, MEPs decided by a margin of 355-247 to reserve product terms including "steak" and "sausage" solely for animal-derived foods.
The Decision Signifies
If this proposal is implemented, common vegetarian items like veggie burgers, soy steak, and vegetable schnitzel may have to be renamed across European Union countries.
However, for the restriction to be enforced, it needs to gain approval from most of the 27 EU countries, which remains uncertain.
The Arguments Behind the Measure
Proponents argue that consumers require transparent labeling and while traditional names should exclusively describe products from animals.
"An escalope and sausages are goods from animal farming: not synthetic production or vegetable sources," stated French MEP the proposal's author.
Opponents, led by environmental lawmakers, described the move pointless regulation.
"Plant-based burgers, seitan schnitzel and soy sausage don't mislead shoppers, just rightwing politicians," said Austria's lawmaker Thomas Waitz.
Past Efforts and Legal Context
The isn't the first effort to regulate such names. EU lawmakers rejected a similar ban in 2020.
France previously enacted a national restriction on traditional names for vegetarian products in 2020, but the European court of justice determined it invalid under EU law in this year.
Business and Consumer Reaction
Leading Germany's supermarkets including Aldi and Lidl oppose the measure, warning that changing established names would confuse shoppers.
Consumer groups point to research indicating that the majority of shoppers understand product labels as long as products are properly identified as vegan.
"Nearly seventy percent of shoppers recognize the terminology as long as products are explicitly labelled vegan or vegetarian," noted Irina Popescu, a food policy expert at BEUC.
What Next
This legislative measure now requires review by European governments, where it needs to obtain majority approval to be enacted.
Given the mixed opinions within both lawmakers and the public, the future of the proposal remains unclear.
