🔗 Share this article EU Lawmakers Decide to Ban Meat-Related Names for Vegetarian Foods During a significant decision on Wednesday, MEPs voted 355 to 247 to reserve food names including "steak" and "schnitzel" exclusively for animal-derived foods. The Vote Signifies Should the measure is implemented, popular vegetarian products like plant-based burgers, soy steak, and vegetable schnitzel may need to be renamed throughout European Union markets. Nevertheless, before the ban to take effect, it must gain approval from a majority of the 27 EU countries, which is far from certain. Key Debate Behind the Measure Supporters argue that consumers need transparent information and while meat terms should only refer to products derived from animals. "An escalope and sausages represent products from animal farming: not laboratory art or vegetable sources," said France's lawmaker Céline Imart. Opponents, including Green MEPs, called the decision unnecessary restriction. "Veggie burgers, wheat schnitzel and tofu sausage don't mislead shoppers, just certain lawmakers," said Austria's lawmaker Thomas Waitz. Previous Efforts and Legal Context This marks another effort to regulate these names. The European parliament voted down a comparable prohibition in four years ago. The French government previously enacted a domestic restriction on meat terms for vegetarian products in recent years, but the European court of justice determined it illegal under European legislation in this year. Business and Public Reaction Major Germany's supermarkets including Aldi and Lidl oppose the measure, cautioning that altering familiar names would mislead shoppers. Advocacy organizations cite surveys indicating that the majority of shoppers understand product labels when products are properly identified as vegetarian. "Nearly 70% of shoppers understand the terminology as long as products are clearly marked plant-based," noted Irina Popescu, a food policy officer at BEUC. What Comes Following the Vote This proposal next faces review by EU member states, where it needs to secure broad support to become law. Given the divided views within both lawmakers and the public, the future of the proposal is still uncertain.