The European Parliament has voted by a majority that vegetarian meat substitutes should no longer be called burgers, schnitzels, and sausages. A majority of 355 MEPs voted in favor of a corresponding change in the law on Wednesday in Strasbourg, with 247 voting against. However, the decision is not final; it will now go to negotiations with the 27 EU countries.
The motion was tabled by a French conservative MEP, Céline Imart. “It's about transparency and clarity for consumers and recognition for the work of our farmers,” Imart said in a parliamentary debate on the issue. She argued that the names commonly used in supermarkets are misleading.
The consumer organization BEUC disagrees and points to its own surveys. “The majority of consumers are not confused by these terms,” writes BEUC expert Irina Popescu in an online article. “Decision-makers should focus on making packaging clear and understandable, with trustworthy labels,” she said on Wednesday.
A joint letter to German MEPs opposing the plans to ban the current labels for meat alternatives was also supported by major food companies. Among the signatories are Aldi Süd, Lidl, Burger King, and Rügenwalder Mühle. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Agriculture Minister Alois Rainer (CSU), on the other hand, had backed the plans. “A sausage is a sausage. Sausage is not vegan,” Merz said on Sunday evening on the ARD program “Caren Miosga.”
However, the majority of German MEPs from the CDU and CSU voted against the motion on Wednesday. It is “a shame that the majority in the European Parliament is preoccupied with such nonsense at a time when we really have other problems,” said CDU MEP Peter Liese.
Members of the Social Democratic Party, the Green Party, and the Liberal Party expressed similar views. “Terms such as veggie burgers and tofu sausages have long been commonplace,” emphasized SPD MEP Maria Noichl. A ban is not a solution to the problems in agriculture: “No farmer will end up with more money in their pocket as a result.”
The vote on burger names in Strasbourg was part of a legislative package with which the EU actually wants to strengthen the position of farmers in negotiations on supermarket prices. This includes a requirement for written contracts between farms and their customers. These are not currently standard practice in the dairy industry, for example.
With Wednesday's vote, the European Parliament gave its fundamental support to the plans. However, the majority voted in favor of allowing exceptions to the contract requirement if requested by an industry association. The Parliament also voted in favor of a number of climate protection measures to make life easier for farmers.
The reforms will now be negotiated with the 27 EU countries. The ban on the name “veggie burger” could then be lifted again.
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