Should veggie Burgers be called Burgers? EU Considers New Rules

A ban on using names like "Burger," "Sausage" (Wurst), or "Schnitzel" for vegetarian products is currently under discussion at the EU level. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Agriculture Minister Alois Rainer (CSU) have expressed support for the move. “A sausage is a sausage. Sausage is not vegan,” Merz said on Sunday evening in the ARD program Caren Miosga. Consumer protection advocates, however, sharply criticized the proposal.

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This week, the EU Parliament in Strasbourg is set to vote on a proposal stipulating that burgers, schnitzels, and sausages may only bear these names if they contain meat. Rainer, a trained master butcher, welcomed the proposal: “For me personally, a schnitzel is made from turkey, veal, or pork,” he told Bild.

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The Federal Ministry of Agriculture referred to the coalition agreement, which emphasizes that consumers should have the freedom to decide how they eat. The ministry stressed that “transparency and information about food available in stores” are necessary. It therefore welcomes “clear distinction and recognizability between traditionally animal-based foods and plant-based meat alternatives.”

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The consumer organization Foodwatch criticized the EU proposal, stating that there is no evidence consumers are confused by products clearly labeled as “vegan” or “vegetarian.” Chris Methmann, head of Foodwatch Germany, said, “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.”

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The European consumer organization BEUC also noted, “The majority of consumers are not confused by these terms,” and added that the EU proposal “makes little sense from a consumer perspective.” The vote in the EU Parliament is scheduled for Wednesday. The decision would not be final, as the Parliament would then have to negotiate with the 27 EU member states on the proposed legislation.

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