🔗 Share this article EU Parliament Vote to Prohibit Meat-Related Terms for Vegetarian Foods During a major decision on Wednesday, MEPs decided 355 to 247 to reserve food names including "burger" and "sausage" exclusively for animal-derived foods. The Decision Signifies If the measure becomes law, popular plant-based items such as plant-based burgers, soy steak, and vegetable schnitzel may need to change their names throughout EU markets. However, for the ban to be enforced, it needs to receive support from most of the EU's 27 countries, which is far from certain. The Debate Behind the Measure Supporters contend that customers require transparent information and while traditional names should exclusively describe items from animals. "A steak or a sausage represent products from animal farming: not synthetic production nor vegetable sources," stated France's MEP Céline Imart. Critics, led by Green MEPs, called the decision pointless restriction. "Veggie burgers, wheat schnitzel and soy sausage do not confuse shoppers, just certain lawmakers," declared Austria's Green MEP Thomas Waitz. Past Efforts and Judicial Context This isn't the first attempt to control such names. The European parliament rejected a comparable prohibition in four years ago. The French government earlier enacted a national ban on meat terms for vegetarian products in recent years, but EU courts ruled it illegal under EU law in 2024. Industry and Consumer Reaction Leading German retailers including Aldi and Lidl object to the measure, cautioning that altering established terms would confuse consumers. Advocacy organizations point to surveys showing that the majority of shoppers understand these names when items are properly marked as vegan. "Nearly seventy percent of consumers understand the terminology provided items are clearly marked plant-based," noted Irina Popescu, a food policy officer at BEUC. What Comes Next The legislative measure now faces consideration by European governments, where it needs to secure broad approval to be enacted. Considering the mixed opinions within both politicians and the general population, the future of this initiative is still unclear.