Veggie burgers and soy yogurt, we've all gotten used to the fact that these products contain no meat or dairy. Or not everyone?
If it is up to the European Parliament, these names will be banned. Crazy actually when you think about it. After all, peanut butter also exists and there is really no cheese in it. The same goes for chickpeas, tiger nuts, mashed mice and hot dogs. With common sense, we know that we don't actually eat peas made from frogs. Just like we know that we can expect meat in vegetable soup. Wouldn't we be smart enough to realize that a veggie burger contains no meat?
According to the European Parliament, the terms are misleading. They want a ban on the use of names such as 'sausage', 'steak' and 'burger' when it comes to vegetarian products, and references to dairy products when it comes to vegetable products such as soy yogurt.
The ban on meat names for vegetarian products was adopted by a large majority (25 to 6) by the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee yesterday. This does not mean that it is already in effect. First, the entire European Parliament still has to vote on it. This will happen after the European elections at the end of May. In addition, the European Commission and the Member States must also agree.
According to ProVeg International, consumers choose vegetarian products with such names because they know that it does not contain meat, but because of this they know what taste they can expect. This is also clearly indicated on the packaging as it is an important selling point. The quality of meat substitutes is also improving. ProVeg, together with environmental clubs such as Greenpeace, the European Vegetarian Union and BirdLife, will continue to lobby against the proposal. This is how they try to avoid a definitive ban.
Also read:You save this by not eating meat for a week
