EU Parliament bans meat terms for plant-based food
One man's meat is another man's tofu: the European Parliament has voted 355 to 247 to ban the use of terms such as burger, steak and schnitzel for plant-based foods. If the legislation goes through, such labels would be reserved for animal products, but it has yet to receive the approval of the 27 EU member states. The media see much more than just fraudulent labelling behind the move.
The result of years of lobbying
The new law is all about boosting the profits of the meat industry, writes the tageszeitung:
“It's quite simple: companies that only sell genuine meat products and farmers who produce them have lost market share to the veggie substitute product industry in recent years. That's why lobbyists have been lobbying for years for laws that devalue the products of plant-based competitors and thus enhance the value of their own products. ... The relabelling regulation that has now been passed is of course neither a victory for consumer protection nor does it protect us from the downfall of the West. All that has happened is that one side and its profit interests (and far larger market share) has prevailed against the other side (which is considerably weaker in terms of turnover) and its profit interests.”
Meat culture not synonymous with identity
Access to healthy and affordable food is more crucial than labelling, NRC is sure:
“For some people it is still more difficult than for others, financially speaking, to eat anything other than meat from large-scale livestock operations. The European Commission and the [Dutch] Parliament would do well to address this issue and not pretend that a meat-based culture is synonymous with identity. Growing old in good health and keeping the planet liveable does not pose a threat to culinary traditions.”