European Parliament Decide to Ban Meat-Related Terms for Vegetarian Products
In a major decision on Wednesday, MEPs decided 355 to 247 to restrict food names such as "steak" and "schnitzel" solely for meat products.
What the Vote Signifies
Should the measure is implemented, popular plant-based products such as plant-based burgers, tofu steak, and vegetable schnitzel could need to change their names throughout European Union countries.
However, before the ban to take effect, it must gain approval from most of the EU's 27 countries, which is far from certain.
The Arguments Surrounding the Proposal
Proponents contend that customers require transparent information and while meat terms must only describe items from livestock.
"An escalope and sausages are products from animal farming: not synthetic production or vegetable sources," stated French MEP the proposal's author.
Opponents, led by environmental lawmakers, described the decision unnecessary restriction.
"Plant-based burgers, wheat schnitzel and soy sausage don't mislead shoppers, only certain lawmakers," said Austria's lawmaker Thomas Waitz.
Previous Efforts and Judicial Context
The marks another effort to regulate such names. EU lawmakers voted down a similar prohibition in four years ago.
France earlier introduced a domestic restriction on traditional names for vegetarian products in recent years, but EU courts ruled it invalid under EU law in this year.
Business and Consumer Response
Leading German supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl oppose the measure, warning that altering established terms would mislead consumers.
Advocacy organizations cite research indicating that the majority of shoppers understand product labels as long as items are properly identified as vegetarian.
"Nearly seventy percent of shoppers understand these names provided items are explicitly labelled vegan or vegetarian," noted Irina Popescu, a food policy expert at BEUC.
What Next
This legislative measure next requires consideration by EU member states, and it needs to secure majority approval to be enacted.
Given the divided opinions among various politicians and the general population, the future of this initiative is still unclear.
