🔗 Share this article EU Parliament Vote to Prohibit Meat-Related Terms for Vegetarian Foods In a major vote this week, European Parliament members decided 355 to 247 to restrict food names including "steak" and "sausage" exclusively for animal-derived foods. The Vote Signifies Should the measure becomes law, popular plant-based products like veggie burgers, tofu steak, and vegetable schnitzel could have to be renamed across European Union markets. However, before the restriction to be enforced, it must gain approval from most of the EU's 27 countries, something that remains uncertain. Key Arguments Behind the Proposal Proponents contend that customers need transparent information and while traditional names must exclusively refer to products from animals. "An escalope or a sausage represent goods from our livestock: not synthetic production or plant products," said France's lawmaker the proposal's author. Opponents, including environmental lawmakers, called the decision political maneuvering. "Plant-based burgers, wheat schnitzel and tofu sausage do not confuse consumers, only rightwing politicians," declared Austrian lawmaker Thomas Waitz. Past Attempts and Judicial Context This isn't the first attempt to control these terminology. The European parliament rejected a comparable prohibition in 2020. The French government previously introduced a national restriction on meat terms for plant-based foods in recent years, but EU courts determined it illegal under EU law in 2024. Business and Public Response Leading German supermarkets including Aldi and Lidl object to the measure, cautioning that changing established terms would confuse consumers. Consumer groups cite research showing that most consumers comprehend product labels when items are properly marked as vegetarian. "Nearly seventy percent of shoppers understand the terminology as long as items are explicitly marked vegan or vegetarian," said Irina Popescu, a consumer officer at BEUC. What Next The proposal next requires review by European governments, where it needs to secure majority support to become law. Considering the mixed views within various lawmakers and the public, the future of the proposal is still unclear.