17 July 2025 – The European Commission unveiled a proposal to restrict the use of certain names by plant-based alternatives, stating it will enhance transparency to consumers and protect historical and cultural significance of meat products
The proposal under a revision of the Common Market Organisation Regulation, comes 5 years after the European Parliament voted down a similar ban and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) barred a similar proposal at Member-State level, put into place by the French Government.
According to the European Vegetarian Union (EVU), leading part of the case “The ECJ stated that current legislation is sufficient to ensure consumer protection and transparency. This has also been stated by the European Commission on several occasions. We are surprised to see the Commission change its views and priorities in such an unexpected manner. With all the real issues currently faced by European agriculture, there are surely more important policies to focus on”.
The proposal states that “meat” means exclusively the edible parts of an animal and sets a list of 29 “forbidden” words for plant-based products, such as “beef”, “chicken”, “pork”, “bacon” and descriptive terms such as “breast”, “wings”, “drumsticks” or “ribs”
Currently, plant-based products can use these terms, as long as it is made clear on the packaging that the product is made of plants and contains no meat. For Rafael Pinto, Senior Policy Manager at the EVU, “we have abundant data from several EU countries showing that consumers are not confused by the use of these terms and are not buying plant-based products by accident. This proposal has nothing to do with consumer protection and transparency. Artificially restricting the use of meat terms would be a waste of public resources and an undue restriction of European entrepreneurship and innovation.”
According to a 2020 study by the European Consumer Organization (BEUC), most consumers are not concerned about current use of names, with up to 80% believing it should be allowed to use traditional denominations as long as the plant-based nature of the product is clear.
The debate was also recently dredged up in the European Parliament with French MEP, Celina Imart (EPP), coming up with a similar proposal that will be voted on after the summer. Although the European Commission is excluding previously contentious terms such as “burger”, “sausage” or “steak” from its proposal, these are included in the Parliament’s version.
“Europe cannot set itself the priority to reduce bureaucracy, red tape and increase competitiveness on Mondays and Tuesdays, and then come up with completely unnecessary proposals on Wednesdays and Thursdays. We cannot set food security and climate change as priorities and then hinder the development of key solutions. We cannot call for innovation in agriculture and new revenues for farmers, and restrict important opportunities in the plant-based sector. This proposal goes completely against the agenda of the current European Commission, and the priorities of European citizens. We call on the college of Commissioners and President Ursula von der Leyen to step up and abandon this non-sense”, concludes Rafael Pinto.
For more information contact:
Rafael Pinto
Senior Policy Manager at EVU
+351914911004
The European Vegetarian Union (EVU) is the umbrella association of 48 civil society organisations in 29 countries. The EVU represents the voice of the growing number of European consumers shifting towards a more plant-based diet. As such, we advocate for a favourable food environment that makes it easier to choose as well as produce more plant-based foods. www.euroveg.eu
