Sighs of relief could be heard far and wide last week, when, after more than five years of procrastination, the European Parliament finally put an end to the confusion faced by millions every time they order a burger, steak or sausage.

In what some tabloids and a number of dedicated meat fans have gleefully referred to as a ‘stroke of common sense’, MEPs voted to ban the use of key ‘meaty’ words when describing plant-based versions of certain foods. Never again will someone be served a meat substitute instead of actual meat. (Although whether or not that was ever a problem that needed solving in the first place is another matter.)

There has been much clapping back – and some amusement – from the plant-based community. As one commenter put it on LinkedIn: “There is no confusion. This is nothing but petty bullshit.” Well, quite.

Putting it more politely was Claire Ogley, head of campaigns, policy and research at The Vegan Society. “There is no evidence to suggest that consumers are confused by commonly used food names,” she said, describing the move as nothing more than “smoke and mirrors” from powerful meat and dairy lobbies.

“It’s pretty clear what a ‘vegan sausage’ is and that a ‘plant-based burger’ doesn’t come from a cow.”

And it’s a step to the right

This is not the first time there have been calls to rename the veggie burger, with potential bans rearing their head on several occasions over the past decade. France has largely led the charge over several years, primarily due to pressure from its infamously aggressive farming sector.

Céline Imart, the French member of parliament who led the proposal, said the food industry should “call a spade a spade”, and that using traditionally meaty terms for plant-based food is “misleading for the consumer”.

And so now the plans – which were initially abandoned five years ago – have resurfaced. This time round though, they’ve made it through, with a 355-247 majority vote in favour of implementing the ban, reflecting the wider changes in Europe’s political and ideological landscape as it lurches disconcertingly towards the right.

Isabel Fernández, a consultant for NGO Mighty Earth, described the recent political situation in Europe as being “totally changed”. Centrist parties are now “increasingly concerned” by the rise of far-right parties in the bloc, she told The Grocer last month, so they are “moving towards their political ideas”, echoing the rightward shift of UK politics.

So although it’s not yet set in stone (the proposal still needs government backing from all 27 member countries, as well as the European Commission), last week’s news was seen as both a political victory and a win for livestock farmers who say the ‘misleading’ plant-based food labels threaten their industry and livelihoods.

But what is renaming plant-based products as veggie discs (burgers) or tubes (sausages) really going to achieve? (Other than giving consumers the ick, of course.)

Rebranding and relabelling thousands of products is costly and wasteful. And in this instance, is likely to be completely ignored by the consumer as the terms have been used, confusion-free, for decades.

As David Knibbs, founder of Tofoo Co, points out, “Calling a plant-based product a burger is simply a familiar shortcut that helps consumers understand how to use it. If something looks like a burger and cooks like a burger, calling it anything just causes unnecessary confusion.”

Business as usual

But it’s not all bad news, and UK meat-alternative suppliers are not exactly quaking in their boots at the thought of this ban reaching our shores. As the UK no longer follows EU rules, any effects of the ban are limited to businesses that export into the bloc.

To that end, Mark Cuddigan, CEO of This, describes the move as “the first positive thing I can think of that has come from Brexit”.

“Since this doesn’t impact our home market, we haven’t lost any sleep planning any name changes,” he said. “That said, our current packaging already does the talking. We use an approach that tells people exactly what the product is, while also making it clear it’s plant-based. Our product names include products like This Isn’t Chicken Thighs. It’s still a little unclear whether even that kind of phrasing will be OK under the proposed ban, but for now, it’s business as usual.”

While Cuddigan doesn’t export This products into the European Union, companies that do will be required to cover the additional admin and packaging costs, which will inevitably be passed on to consumers.

Knibbs believes common sense will prevail in the UK. “Whether you call it a burger, sausage or steak, consumers know the difference between meat and plant-based products,” he says, adding that the new terms simply risk making plant-based foods feel even less accessible.

“They’re buying them precisely because they’re not meat. Nobody’s biting into a tofu burger wondering where the cow went.”

No confusion

Although the proposal isn’t even law yet, the pushback has already begun. Major German supermarkets, including Aldi and Lidl, have written an open letter saying that banning “familiar terms” would make it “more difficult for consumers to make informed decisions”.

A coalition has come together to campaign against the proposal, pointing out that, as Europe faces a climate and biodiversity crisis, the EU should be making it easier, not harder, for people to choose sustainable foods as part of their diets.

The ‘No Confusion’ campaign, which already has 45,000 signatures and is supported by Greenpeace, Plant-Based Foods Europe and Changing Markets Foundation, says the proposal “has no basis in consumer protection, and serves vested interests”, as politicians use EU law to “make life harder for innovators and consumers who support change”.

So, if these new terms do become law, will it change how people shop? Will the French farming community see a significant boost in its meat trade as consumers finally get the sausages they have been trying (and failing) to order for the past decade?

It’s unlikely. Because let’s face it, if using the terms burgers, bacon, schnitzel and steak are too confusing for consumers, then we need to have a good hard think about what we call the hot dog.

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