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Angry European farmers are pushing for a ban on calling vegetarian products a “hamburger” or a “sausage,” which they say misleads consumers into thinking that certain products contain meat.
His demand was part of a legislative proposal in the European Parliament, which MEPs will vote on later this week in Brussels.
The ban request stems from the growing success of high-end veggie burgers that faithfully replicate the taste and feel of eating meat.
Vegetarianism is also gaining traction due to the link between livestock farming and climate change.
Products labeled “yogurt style” or “cheese-like” would also be prohibited for non-dairy products. Terms like “soy milk” and “vegan cheese” are already banned in the EU.
According to the proposal, “terms and descriptions that refer to ‘meat’ should be reserved exclusively for parts of animals fit for human consumption.”
The draft text lists “steak,” “sausage,” “schnitzel,” “hamburger,” and “hamburger” as examples of prohibited words.
Parliament’s agriculture committee proposed the passage as an amendment to a vast farm bill that would be put to a vote on Tuesday.
Jean-Pierre Fleury, from the EU farmers association Copa and Cogeca, called the misuse of meat labels “an obvious case of cultural kidnapping”.
“We are about to create a happy new world where marketing is disconnected from the real nature of products, demanding only that things get out of hand!” he said earlier this month.
Food advocacy group ProVeg International said the opposite was true and that the terms “provide important information about the taste and uses that people can expect of a product.”
“Just as we all know that peanut butter does not contain butter, consumers know exactly what they are getting when they buy veggie burgers or hot dogs,” said Alex Gromminger of ProVeg.
Hervé Salomon, French director of Upfield vegetable butter, called the proposal “totally absurd” and said it went against everything the EU is trying to achieve in terms of reducing pollution in agriculture.
Voting results should not be available before Wednesday.
If the current text is adopted, it would be negotiated with EU member states as part of a reform of EU agricultural policies.
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