🔗 Share this article European Parliament Decide to Prohibit Meat-Based Names for Vegetarian Products During a significant vote on Wednesday, European Parliament members voted by a margin of 355-247 to reserve food names including "steak" and "sausage" exclusively for meat products. The Vote Means Should the measure becomes law, common vegetarian products such as veggie burgers, tofu steak, and vegetable schnitzel may have to change their names across EU markets. Nevertheless, before the ban to take effect, it must gain approval from a majority of the EU's 27 member states, which is uncertain. The Debate Surrounding the Measure Proponents contend that customers require clear labeling and that meat terms should exclusively refer to items from livestock. "An escalope and sausages represent goods from our livestock: not from synthetic production nor vegetable sources," stated France's MEP the proposal's author. Opponents, led by Green MEPs, described the move populist tactics. "Veggie burgers, seitan schnitzel and tofu sausage don't mislead consumers, only rightwing politicians," said Austria's Green MEP Thomas Waitz. Previous Efforts and Judicial Background This marks another effort to control such names. The European parliament rejected a comparable ban in four years ago. France earlier introduced a national ban on traditional names for plant-based foods in recent years, but the European court of justice determined it illegal under European legislation in this year. Industry and Consumer Response Major German supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl oppose the measure, warning that altering familiar names would mislead consumers. Consumer groups cite research indicating that the majority of shoppers understand product labels as long as products are clearly identified as vegan. "Almost 70% of consumers recognize the terminology as long as products are explicitly marked vegan or vegetarian," said Irina Popescu, a food policy officer at BEUC. What Comes Next The proposal next requires review by EU member states, where it needs to secure majority support to be enacted. Considering the divided opinions among various politicians and the general population, the outcome of the proposal is still unclear.