European Parliament Decide to Prohibit Meat-Based Terms for Plant-Based Products

During a significant decision on Wednesday, MEPs voted 355 to 247 to reserve product terms including "steak" and "sausage" exclusively for meat products.

What the Decision Means

Should this proposal is implemented, popular plant-based items like veggie burgers, tofu steak, and cauliflower schnitzel may need to change their names throughout European Union markets.

Nevertheless, for the ban to take effect, it must receive approval from a majority of the EU's 27 member states, which is uncertain.

Key Arguments Behind the Proposal

Supporters contend that consumers need transparent information and while traditional names must exclusively refer to items derived from animals.

"A steak or a sausage represent products from our livestock: not from synthetic production or vegetable sources," said French MEP Céline Imart.

Opponents, led by environmental lawmakers, described the decision populist maneuvering.

"Plant-based burgers, seitan schnitzel and soy sausage do not confuse shoppers, only certain lawmakers," declared Austria's Green MEP Thomas Waitz.

Previous Attempts and Legal Background

This isn't the first effort to regulate these names. EU lawmakers rejected a comparable prohibition in four years ago.

The French government earlier enacted a domestic restriction on meat terms for plant-based foods in recent years, but EU courts determined it illegal under European legislation in this year.

Business and Consumer Reaction

Major Germany's retailers including Aldi and Lidl object to the measure, warning that altering familiar terms would mislead shoppers.

Advocacy organizations cite surveys showing that most shoppers understand these names when products are clearly marked as vegetarian.

"Nearly seventy percent of shoppers understand the terminology provided products are explicitly labelled vegan or vegetarian," said Irina Popescu, a food policy officer at BEUC.

What Next

This legislative measure next faces consideration by European governments, and it needs to obtain broad support to be enacted.

Given the mixed opinions among various politicians and the general population, the future of the proposal remains uncertain.