Plant-based eaters may soon have to say goodbye to familiar labels like “veggie burger,” “soy sausage,” and “tofu steak.” The European Parliament has taken a decisive step toward banning the use of traditional meat-related terms on vegetarian and vegan products—a move that could reshape supermarket shelves across the EU.
On Wednesday, lawmakers voted in favor of a proposal that would restrict words such as burger, steak, schnitzel, sausage, hamburger, yolk, and egg white to products that actually contain meat or eggs. Under the new rules, plant-based alternatives would need to adopt more neutral or descriptive names—perhaps “veggie roundel” instead of “veggie burger.”
The initiative, spearheaded by the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, aims to protect European farmers and ensure clarity for consumers by reserving established meat terminology exclusively for animal-derived products. Proponents argue this prevents confusion and safeguards traditional food names.
However, critics say the proposal is unnecessary and out of touch. They contend that terms like “vegan sausage” or “plant-based burger” are widely understood by consumers as descriptive shorthand—not misleading claims. EU parliamentarian Dick Erixon of Sweden’s Social Democrats (part of the European Conservatives and Reformists group) dismissed the plan as “ridiculous,” telling SVT: “Meat is meat and chicken is chicken—but that doesn’t mean we should stop calling a soy product a ‘soy sausage.’ There are far more pressing issues to address.”
This isn’t the first time the issue has surfaced. A similar debate erupted in 2020, sparked by French lawmakers and livestock farmers who accused plant-based brands of “hijacking” meat terminology for marketing advantage. That effort ultimately stalled, but with growing support among a dozen EU member states, this latest push may succeed.
What happens next? The proposal now moves to the European Council, where representatives from all 27 EU countries will negotiate its final form. If approved, it could become law—turning today’s “veggie burgers” into something far less familiar overnight.
For now, the fate of the soy sausage hangs in the balance.