The European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture voted on “meat terms” in favour of banning terms such as “burger”, “sausage” and “steak” on the packaging of plant-based meat substitutes.
📊 Voting results (8 September 2025):
•✅ IN FAVOUR: 33 committee members
•❌ AGAINST: 10 members
•⚪ NEUTRAL: 5 members
•👥 Total committee members: 49
🔍 Decision details
📋 What will be prohibited:
•“Burger” for plant-based patties
•“Sausage” for vegan sausages
•“Steak” for plant-based steaks
•Other meat terms for alternative products
📜 Wording of the proposal:
“Meat terms must be reserved exclusively for the edible parts of animals, such as ‘steak’, ‘sausage’ or ‘burger’. The aforementioned designations may not be used for any other product and must exclude cell-cultivated products.”
🎯 Who this affects:
•Plant-based meat substitutes (vegan products)
•Cultivated meat (lab-grown)
🛣️ What happens next?
📅 Next steps:
1.October 2025 – vote by all members of the European Parliament (plenary session)
2.If approved – negotiations between the Commission, the Council and the Parliament
3.Final decision – adoption of an EU-wide law
🎭 Key figures:
•Céline Imart (France) – Parliament's rapporteur, author of the proposal
•Euroopa Komisjon – has a separate proposal concerning 29 “banned” terms
•Council of the EU – participates in the final negotiations
📈 Context and background
🕰️ History of the issue:
•2020 – Euroopa Parlament voted AGAINST banning meat-related terms
•2024 – Euroopa Kohus ruled that Member States CANNOT ban such terms
•July 2025 – new proposal as part of the review of the common market regulation
•8 September 2025 – the Committee on Agriculture changes course
⚖️ Legal situation:
•European Court of Justice considered the existing legislation sufficient to protect consumers
•The court noted, that the ban could cause MORE confusion for consumers
•The new proposal conflicts with the ruling of the EU's highest court
📊 Consumer opinion
🔍 Studies show:
•80% of Europeans (2020) believe that plant-based products should be allowed to use meat-related terms
•91% of citizens (2023) from nine EU countries recognise plant-based meat substitutes
•Only 9% said they did not recognize plant-based products
💬 Expert opinion:
“There is no evidence to support the claim that consumers are confused about plant-based burgers, sausages, or other substitutes. Politicians continue to raise this non-existent issue, even though it simply is not a problem for citizens.” — Rafael Pinto, Senior Policy Manager at the European Vegetarian Union
🏭 Impact on industry
📉 Negative consequences:
•Plant-based producers must change all packaging and marketing
•Pea and soybean growers may suffer
•Innovative companies face additional obstacles
•Consumers may be confused by the new names
💰 Economic context:
•Europe – the world’s largest plant-based meat market
•A growing sector in the field of alternative proteins
•Investment in plant-based technologies under threat
🎯 Political motives
🐄 Support for traditional livestock farming:
•12 EU Member States exerted pressure to ban such labels
•The livestock farming lobby actively influences EU decisions
•Support for domestic plant-based product manufacturing
•New initiatives in the bioeconomy sector
•A common EU action plan for plant-based products (under the Danish presidency)
🔮 Expert forecasts
⚠️ Risks of adoption:
“Unfortunately, this time, with a more conservative Parliament, there is a significant possibility that the ban will pass.” — Rafael Pinto, European Vegetarian Union
🤞 Hopes for rejection:
•Other committees (Internal Market, Consumer Protection, Environment) may vote against it
•Scientific recommendations support meat substitutes
•Economic arguments against restrictions
🌍 International context
📚 Recent scientific recommendations:
European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC) published a report last week, recommending that policymakers increase support for meat substitutes:
•Climate benefit
•In the interests of public health
•Food security to ensure
🌱 Global trends:
•Growth of the plant-based alternatives market worldwide
•Investments in alternative proteins
•Supporting sustainable nutrition
💼 What this means for business
🏷️ For manufacturers of plant-based products:
•Kogu tootesarja ümberbrändimise vajadus
•Additional costs for changing packaging
•Marketing challenges – how to explain the product without using familiar terms
•Possible confusion among consumers
🥩 For traditional meat producers:
•Protection from competition from plant-based substitutes
•Lihaterminiite eksklusiivuse säilitamine
•Strengthening positions in the market
🛒 For retailers:
•Reworking all labeling systems
•Training staff on the new product names
•Explaining the changes to buyers
🎯 Key conclusions
✅ Facts:
1.8 September 2025 – the EU Agriculture Committee voted in favor of the ban
2.33 against 10 – a convincing majority in favor of the ban
3.October 2025 – a vote by the entire European Parliament is expected
4.Conservative composition in Parliament increases the chances of adoption
⚖️ Contradictions:
•Contradicts the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union
•Contrary to EL-i protein diversification goals
•Not supported by scientific data on consumer confusion
🔮 Prospects:
•High likelihood of adoption due to the conservative Parliament
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