European Parliament Vote to Prohibit Meat-Related Terms for Vegetarian Products
In a major vote this week, MEPs decided 355 to 247 to restrict product terms including "burger" and "sausage" solely for meat products.
What the Vote Means
Should this proposal becomes law, common vegetarian items like plant-based burgers, soy steak, and cauliflower schnitzel could need to be renamed throughout EU countries.
Nevertheless, before the restriction to take effect, it must receive support from a majority of the 27 EU member states, which is uncertain.
The Debate Behind the Measure
Supporters contend that consumers need clear information and that traditional names should exclusively refer to items from livestock.
"An escalope and sausages represent products from our livestock: not from laboratory art nor plant products," stated France's lawmaker the proposal's author.
Critics, led by Green MEPs, called the decision pointless restriction.
"Plant-based burgers, seitan schnitzel and soy sausage do not confuse shoppers, only certain lawmakers," said Austria's lawmaker Thomas Waitz.
Past Efforts and Legal Background
This isn't the first effort to control such terminology. EU lawmakers voted down a similar ban in four years ago.
The French government earlier introduced a national ban on traditional names for plant-based foods in 2020, but the European court of justice ruled it illegal under EU law in 2024.
Industry and Consumer Response
Major German supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl object to the measure, cautioning that altering established names would confuse shoppers.
Advocacy organizations point to surveys showing that most consumers comprehend product labels when products are clearly identified as vegan.
"Nearly seventy percent of shoppers recognize these names as long as items are clearly marked vegan or vegetarian," noted 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 become law.
Considering the divided views within various politicians and the general population, the outcome of the proposal is still unclear.