Veggie burgers, tofu steak and cauliflower schnitzel will be off the menu if the European parliament gets its way after a vote on food names.
MEPs voted on Wednesday by 355 in favour to 247 against to reserve names such as “steak”, “burger” and “sausage” exclusively for products derived from meat, a longstanding demand of farm unions.
In order to come into effect, the idea would have to be approved by a majority of the EU’s 27 member states, which is far from certain.
The vote is a victory for the French centre-right MEP Céline Imart, who drafted the amendment to legislation intended to strengthen the position of farmers in the food supply chain.
Imart, who is also a cereals farmer in north-west France, said: “A steak, an escalope or a sausage are products from our livestock, not laboratory art nor plant products. There is a need for transparency and clarity for the consumer and recognition for the work of our farmers.”
She argues the proposal is in line with EU rules that already ban the use of terms such as “milk” and “yoghurt” for non-dairy products.
The European parliament rejected a ban on meaty names for plant-based products in 2020, but the 2024 elections shifted the parliament to the right, bringing in more lawmakers who seek close ties with farmers.
Opposition was led by Green MEPs, who decried what they saw as a populist move to rename plant-based foods. “Veggie burgers, seitan schnitzel and tofu sausage do not confuse consumers, only rightwing politicians,” Thomas Waitz, an Austrian Green MEP, said after the vote. “This tactic is a diversion and a pathetic smokescreen. No farmer will earn more money or secure their future with this ban.”
Even Imart’s centre-right European People’s party (EPP) is divided on the issue. The EPP’s group leader, Manfred Weber, said before the vote that the issue was not a priority for him and lawmakers had more important things to deal with. “Consumers are not stupid when they go to the supermarkets and buy their products,” he said.
The proposal is opposed by leading German supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl, which fear that banning familiar terms would make it “more difficult for consumers to make informed decisions”.
Germany is the largest market for plant-based products and these businesses fear they would be particularly affected by any move to change the names of plant-based foods.
France’s livestock sector strongly backs the proposals. “Without clear safeguards, consumers risk being misled by products that are disguised as meat but are not meat,” Jean-François Guihard, the head of Interbev, the French livestock and meat association, told AFP.
France introduced a ban on words such as “steak” and “sausage” being applied to plant-based foods in 2020 but the European court of justice ruled the measure illegal under EU law in 2024. The original French decree introduced a ban on 21 terms used by butchers, including “ham”, “filet” and “prime rib”.
Consumer groups say the measure has little support among shoppers. A 2020 survey of 11 EU member states by the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) found that most were not concerned about the use of meat-related names as long as a product was clearly labelled as vegetarian or vegan.
Irina Popescu, a food policy officer at the BEUC, said the vote was disappointing and made little sense. “Almost 70% of consumers understand these names as long as products are clearly labelled vegan or vegetarian. Policymakers should focus on making packaging clear and understandable with trustworthy labels,” she said.
The Austrian MEP Anna Stürgkh, a member of the centrist Renew group, said consumers were unlikely to be misled. “A beef tomato doesn’t contain any beef … Ladies’ fingers are not made of actual ladies’ fingers. Let’s trust consumers and stop this hotdog populism,” she said.
