The European Parliament has voted in favor of banning terms such as “burger” and “sausage” from marketing their plant-based counterparts.
The decision came after a motion by members of the center-right European People’s Party (EPP).
“Steak is made from meat – full stop. Using these names only for real meat keeps labels honest, protects farmers and preserves Europe’s culinary traditions,” lead negotiator and EPP member of parliament Celine Imart said before Wednesday’s vote. “Calling it ‘meat’ is misleading to the consumer,” he said.
But there was disagreement within the EPP, with some members voting against it.
“We should not fool consumers. If a package says ‘veggie burger’ or ‘veggie sausage’, everyone can decide for themselves whether they want to buy it or not. I believe and hope that the discussion will yield no results,” said EPP member Peter Leese.
In response to the majority ballot, Anna Cavazzini of Germany’s Green Party said, “While the world is burning, the EPP has nothing better to do this week than engage us all in a debate about sausages and schnitzels.”
“It is now up to the council and the German federal government to put an end to this nonsense, which confuses consumers, costs companies millions in losses and will not help farmers at all,” he told DW.
According to the German consumer protection organization Consumer Advice Centre, people prefer products that imitate the taste of meat, with names that make them recognizable as such.
“Terms like ‘vegan schnitzel’ do not create confusion but help with orientation and promote clarity,” Astrid Goltz, the organization’s food expert, told DW.
Supermarkets don’t want restrictions
In Germany, major supermarkets such as Aldi Süd and Lidl, fast food joint Burger King and sausage maker Rügenwalder Mühle opposed the proposal and called on the EU Parliament to vote against it.
Consumers are able to differentiate between meat and plant-based alternatives, they said in a joint statement ahead of the vote. The ban “will force companies to use unfamiliar terms which significantly complicates market access and slows down the dynamics of innovation.”
A recent study estimates the potential for plant-based products in Germany alone by 2045 to be around €65 billion ($75 billion), creating 250,000 new jobs.
‘Lobbying for the meat industry’
According to European consumer watchdog organization Foodwatch, the proposal was an attempt to slow the growing trend of people giving up eating meat occasionally.
“Under the pretext of consumer protection, the EU wants to ban familiar terms like tofu sausage or seitan schnitzel – this is not consumer protection, this is lobbying for the meat industry,” Chris Methmann, director of Foodwatch Germany, said in a statement.
Research from sustainability NGO Changing Markets Foundation points to aggressive tactics adopted by the meat industry, including large-scale disinformation campaigns.
A 2020 study from the European Consumer Organization found that 80% of consumers saw no problem with names like soy sausage or veggie schnitzel if they were clearly labeled as plant-based products.
In response to pressure from France to regulate vegan food terms, the European Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that EU member states cannot prohibit the use of terms traditionally associated with animal products.
Even after the vote, it remains up in the air whether consumers will stomach new words for their plant-based schnitzel – that’s now for heads of state and governments to decide.
This article was originally published in German and has been adapted by Sarah Stephan.
Edited by: Tamsin Walker