đź”— Share this article EU Lawmakers Decide to Ban Meat-Related Terms for Plant-Based Products During a major decision this week, European Parliament members voted 355 to 247 to restrict product terms such as "burger" and "sausage" solely for animal-derived foods. What the Vote Signifies If this proposal becomes law, popular vegetarian items like veggie burgers, tofu steak, and cauliflower schnitzel may have to change their names across European Union countries. However, for the ban to be enforced, it needs to receive support from most of the 27 EU countries, which is uncertain. Key Debate Behind the Measure Proponents argue that consumers require transparent information and that traditional names must exclusively describe products from animals. "An escalope or a sausage represent goods from animal farming: not synthetic production or plant products," stated France's MEP the proposal's author. Opponents, led by environmental lawmakers, called the move unnecessary restriction. "Plant-based burgers, seitan schnitzel and soy sausage don't mislead shoppers, only certain lawmakers," said Austrian Green MEP Thomas Waitz. Previous Attempts and Judicial Background The marks another effort to control these terminology. EU lawmakers rejected a similar ban in four years ago. France earlier enacted a national ban on traditional names for vegetarian products in 2020, but the European court of justice ruled it illegal under EU law in 2024. Industry and Public Reaction Major German supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl oppose the proposal, cautioning that changing established terms would mislead consumers. Advocacy organizations cite research indicating that the majority of consumers understand product labels as long as products are properly marked as vegan. "Nearly seventy percent of shoppers understand the terminology provided items are explicitly labelled vegan or vegetarian," noted Irina Popescu, a consumer officer at BEUC. What Following the Vote The legislative measure next requires review by European governments, where it must obtain broad support to become law. Considering the mixed opinions among both lawmakers and the general population, the future of the proposal is still uncertain.