🔗 Share this article European Lawmakers Decide to Ban Meat-Related Terms for Vegetarian Products During a significant vote this week, MEPs decided 355 to 247 to reserve food names such as "steak" and "sausage" solely for meat products. What the Decision Means If the measure is implemented, popular vegetarian products like veggie burgers, tofu steak, and cauliflower schnitzel may need to be renamed throughout EU markets. However, for the ban to take effect, it needs to gain approval from a majority of the 27 EU countries, something that remains uncertain. Key Arguments Behind the Proposal Proponents contend that customers need transparent labeling and while meat terms should exclusively refer to items derived from livestock. "An escalope and sausages represent products from animal farming: not from synthetic production or plant products," said France's MEP the proposal's author. Opponents, including environmental lawmakers, called the decision populist maneuvering. "Veggie burgers, seitan schnitzel and soy sausage don't mislead consumers, just certain lawmakers," declared Austrian lawmaker Thomas Waitz. Past Efforts and Judicial Background This marks another effort to control such terminology. The European parliament rejected a similar prohibition in 2020. France earlier introduced a national restriction on traditional names for plant-based foods in recent years, but EU courts determined it illegal under EU law in this year. Business and Public Response Leading German supermarkets including Aldi and Lidl oppose the measure, cautioning that changing established terms would confuse shoppers. Advocacy organizations point to research showing that the majority of shoppers understand these names when products are properly identified as vegetarian. "Almost seventy percent of shoppers recognize the terminology provided items are clearly marked plant-based," noted Irina Popescu, a food policy officer at BEUC. What Next This legislative measure next faces review by European governments, and it must obtain majority approval to become law. Given the mixed opinions among both politicians and the general population, the outcome of this initiative remains uncertain.