🔗 Share this article European Lawmakers Decide to Ban Meat-Related Names for Plant-Based Foods In a significant decision on Wednesday, European Parliament members voted 355 to 247 to reserve food names such as "steak" and "schnitzel" exclusively for animal-derived foods. The Decision Signifies Should this proposal is implemented, common plant-based items such as plant-based burgers, soy steak, and vegetable schnitzel could need to be renamed across EU countries. However, for the restriction to take effect, it must gain approval from most of the 27 EU member states, which is far from certain. Key Arguments Behind the Measure Proponents contend that customers require clear labeling and while traditional names must exclusively refer to products derived from animals. "A steak or a sausage represent products from our livestock: not from synthetic production nor vegetable sources," said France's MEP the proposal's author. Opponents, including environmental lawmakers, described the move pointless regulation. "Plant-based burgers, wheat schnitzel and soy sausage do not confuse consumers, just rightwing politicians," declared Austria's Green MEP Thomas Waitz. Previous Attempts and Legal Background The isn't the first attempt to control such terminology. The European parliament voted down a comparable ban in 2020. France previously introduced a domestic ban on meat terms for vegetarian products in recent years, but the European court of justice ruled it invalid under European legislation in this year. Industry and Consumer Response Major Germany's retailers including Aldi and Lidl oppose the proposal, warning that altering familiar terms would confuse shoppers. Advocacy organizations cite research indicating that most shoppers comprehend these names as long as items are clearly marked as vegetarian. "Almost seventy percent of consumers understand the terminology as long as products are clearly marked plant-based," said Irina Popescu, a consumer expert at BEUC. What Next This legislative measure next faces consideration by European governments, where it must obtain majority approval to be enacted. Given the mixed opinions among both lawmakers and the public, the future of this initiative is still uncertain.