Members of the European Parliament have voted for “meaty” names to be reserved exclusively for products containing meat.
MEPs decided to introduce a new definition of meat as “edible parts of animals”.
Labels such as “steak”, “burger” and “sausage” must now be reserved exclusively for products containing meat, and European Parliament stated that they must include cell-cultured products.
The vote, which had a 355-247 majority, also saw MEPs request clarity on the use of the terms “fair” or “equitable” for agricultural products, asking that the criteria for allowing such labelling include the products’ contribution to the development of rural communities and the promotion of farmer organisation development.
Céline Imart (EPP, FR) said during a plenary debate: “We want to make sure that farmers have a contract with their first buyer. We need to put an end to the precarious business relations that exist right now. All too often they are too imbalanced. We need to guarantee fair remuneration for those who feed us, taking into account the production costs involved.
“Farm income is not just a matter of statistics or abstract figures. It is a question of justice, dignity and sometimes even survival. Those who produce our food represent our identity. This instrument is the very least we owe them.”
Industry opposition in Germany
A number of German companies including Aldi, Lidl, Beyond Meat, Burger King and The Vegetarian Butcher, signed a letter calling for the ban on “meaty” labels not to go ahead, with the letter stating that the ban would “make it much more difficult for companies to sell their products”.
It also suggested that Germany would be “particularly affected economically”, as it is the largest market for plant-based alternatives that can be prepared and used in a similar way to their animal counterparts.
