EU member states and lawmakers agreed Thursday to ban using meat-related terms such as “steak” and “bacon” to market plant-based foods — but spared veggie “burgers” and “sausage”. The decision marks a win for Europe’s livestock farmers, many of whom argue that plant-based foods which mimic meat are potentially misleading for consumers, threatening their already troubled sector.
Under the deal agreed by the two parliamentary bodies, there will be a wide range of meat-related terms reserved exclusively for animal products. Words like steak, ribeye, drumstick, sirloin and bacon will only be used to describe animal-based meat products. While no specific words were mentioned, the restriction will lead to the abandonment of vegan bacon and vegan steak labels.
The move is being made following challenges made by farmers who think it is unfair that plant-based food products use “meaty” words to attract consumers.
A win for livestock producers
Farmers say it is unfair for plant-based foods to use terms traditionally linked to meat products. They argue labels such as “burger” or “steak” allow meat alternatives to benefit from the reputation of established livestock products.
Farmers’ groups have called on lawmakers to restrict the use of these terms, saying tighter rules would improve transparency in the internal market and help consumers make better-informed choices.
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Plant-based industry pushes back
The move by lawmakers has been met with concern from producers of plant-based food products and consumer groups who see the move as a threat to the growing vegan and vegetarian food market.
The producer groups want to see the use of meat-related terms allowed for use by plant-based food products as they are confident that consumers will still be able to distinguish between food products.
Much like the earlier battle over dairy labels — where terms such as milk and butter are reserved for animal-derived products — farmers are now clashing with the growing plant-based food industry over the use of meat-related terms.
Part of broader farm reform
The restriction on the use of specific terms is part of a wider reform plan that aims to improve the income farmers make by strengthening their role in the food chain.
The plan introduces measures such as making written contracts between farmers and buyers the general rule. It also aims to strengthen producer organisations, which represent farmers and negotiate with companies over farming conditions.
Under the CAP guidelines, EU governments can provide extra funds to support producer organisations to ensure that farmers reap as many benefits as possible from producing crops and food products.
Maria Panayiotou, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment of the Republic of Cyprus said the meat-related term restriction and other farming reforms were part of a balanced solution.
