What’s in a name? Plenty, if it’s a veggie burger
EU RULES THAT VEGGIE BURGER SCAN KEEP THEIR NAME AFTER ALL
Consumers are in no way confused by a soy steak or chickpea- based sausage, so long as it is clearly labelled as vegetarian or vegan.
Camille Perrsin | Food policy officer
If all Hamburgers eaten by Americans in a year are arranged in a straight line, it would circle our Earth 32 times or more!
When is a burger not a burger? When it contains no meat. At least according to a divisive proposal thatwas in front of the European Parliament this week, part of a set of measures that would have banned the use of terms like “steak,” “sausage,” “escallop” or “burger” on labels for plant- based alternative products.
But after a decisive vote against the measure on Friday, it seems veggie burgers will still be on the menu.
“Reason prevailed, and climate sinners lost,” Nikolaj Villumsen, a member of the European Parliament from Denmark posted on Twitter. “It’s worth celebrating with a veggie burger.”
Proposed changes
Aproposal to expand a ban on descriptions such as “yogurt style” or “cream imitation” for nondairy replacements did pass, extending previous limitations on the use of words like “milk” and “butter” on nondairy alternatives.
Jasmijn de Boo, vice president of ProVeg International, a group aimed at reducing meat consumption, said that the proposal was not in the interest of consumers or manufacturers, and that shoppers were not confused by the labels currently on store shelves.
“Why change something to a ‘ veggie disc’ or ‘ tube’ instead of a sausage?” she said.
Those in favour of the change said that labelling plant- based products with meat terms were misleading and could open the door for other confusing labels.
“We simply call for the work of millions of European farmers and livestock sector workers to be acknowledged and respected,” said Jean- Pierre Fleury, chairman of Copa- Cogeca, Europe’s largest farming lobby group. He described the use of meatlike names for plant- based products as “cultural hijacking.”
The decision is a victory for environmental advocates over an EU farming lobby that is one of the strongest voices in the bloc considering that the sector has been shrinking for years.
Camille Perrin, senior food policy officer at the European Consumer Organisation, called the decision “great news” and a “common sense” vote.
“Consumers are in no way confused by a soy steak or chick-pea-based sausage, so long as it is clearly labelled as vegetarian or vegan,” she said in a statement after the vote. “Terms such as ‘ burger’ or ‘ steak’ on plant- based items simply make it much easier for consumers to know how to integrate these products within ameal.”
It is not the first debate over plant- based foods as that sector has exploded in recent years.
Long- standing debate
Labels for plant- based dairy alternatives like “soy milk” or “tofu butter” are illegal in the bloc after dairy producers won a 2017 ruling backed by the European Court of Justice. In 2018, France banned the use of meat terms to describe vegetarian products. In dozens of states in the United States, advocates of vegetarian food have clashed with farmers and lobbyists over legislation that makes it illegal for plant- based products to be called meat.
Several parties in the European Parliament had also submitted proposals with different caveats since the initial amendment was introduced, and those are still to be voted on. Manufacturers like Beyond Meat, Unilever and Ikea, along with the European Medical Association, have opposed the changes, which they described in an open letter as “disproportionate and out of step with the current climate.”
Many said that approving the amendment would be counter to ago al set by the European Parliament to reduce carbon emissions 60 per cent by 2030.
‘ Meaty’ requirements
In a 2020 survey from the European Consumer Organisation, 42 per cent of respondents said they believed “meaty” names for plant- based products should be permitted if products were labelled vegetarian or vegan. Twenty- five percent said such names should be banned.
A spokesman for CopaCogeca said the organisation did not believe that shoppers could not tell the difference between meat and plant- based products, and said that farmers were not against vegetable alternatives. But he said that differentiating the markets was among a host of initiatives that would support struggling farmers who are trying to adapt to a world more focussed on sustainability.