In a significant vote this week, European Parliament members decided 355 to 247 to restrict food names including "burger" and "sausage" solely for meat products.
The Decision Signifies
Should this proposal becomes law, popular plant-based items such as veggie burgers, tofu steak, and cauliflower schnitzel may have to be renamed throughout EU countries.
However, before the ban to be enforced, it must gain approval from most of the 27 EU member states, something that is uncertain.
The Arguments Surrounding the Proposal
Supporters argue that consumers require transparent information and that meat terms should only describe items from animals.
"An escalope and sausages represent goods from animal farming: not laboratory art nor plant products," stated French lawmaker Céline Imart.
Critics, including environmental lawmakers, described the move pointless regulation.
"Plant-based burgers, wheat schnitzel and tofu sausage do not confuse shoppers, only rightwing politicians," declared Austria's Green MEP Thomas Waitz.
Past Attempts and Legal Context
This isn't the first effort to regulate these terminology. EU lawmakers voted down a comparable ban in 2020.
France earlier introduced a national restriction on traditional names for plant-based foods in recent years, but the European court of justice determined it invalid under EU law in 2024.
Industry and Public Reaction
Major Germany's supermarkets including Aldi and Lidl oppose the measure, cautioning that changing familiar names would mislead consumers.
Advocacy organizations cite surveys indicating that the majority of consumers understand product labels as long as products are properly marked as vegan.
"Almost seventy percent of shoppers recognize the terminology as long as products are explicitly labelled plant-based," said Irina Popescu, a food policy officer at BEUC.
What Comes Following the Vote
The legislative measure next faces consideration by EU member states, where it needs to obtain majority support to be enacted.
Considering the mixed opinions within both lawmakers and the public, the outcome of this initiative remains uncertain.
