{"id":493,"date":"2020-10-02T15:43:03","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T13:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/?p=493"},"modified":"2021-01-22T18:55:10","modified_gmt":"2021-01-22T17:55:10","slug":"from-veggie-burgers-to-meatless-sausages-eu-votes-on-ban-for-meat-alternative-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/493\/from-veggie-burgers-to-meatless-sausages-eu-votes-on-ban-for-meat-alternative-names\/","title":{"rendered":"From veggie burgers to meatless sausages: EU votes on ban for meat alternative names"},"content":{"rendered":"
During the week of October 19th<\/sup>, members of the European Parliament vote on whether terms like veggie \u2018burger\u2019 or \u2018sausages\u2019 may still be used for meat-free food products. What are the consequences of this potential ban? And why is it on the EU agenda in the first place?<\/strong><\/p>\n The potential ban concerns the use of widely understood terms such as \u2018burger\u2019<\/em>, \u2018sausage\u2019<\/em>, and \u2018steak\u2019<\/em> for plant-based products. Additionally, the proposed EU ban would also prohibit dairy-related terms, such as \u2018yoghurt style\u2019<\/em>, \u2018cheese alternative\u2019<\/em> and \u2018butter substitute\u2019<\/em>.\u00a0Alternative names could range from \u2018discs<\/em>\u2019 to \u2018slices<\/em>\u2019 and \u2018liquid<\/em>\u2019. The main argument behind the proposal is to avoid consumer confusion.<\/p>\n With a potential ban the EU is following the lead of France, where an amendment was passed last year<\/a> to an agriculture bill which will prohibit any non-animal based product from being labelled as a traditional animal product. Ronja Berthold is head of Public Affairs at the European Vegetarian Union. She explains what a potential ban on meat names might look like. Listen below:<\/p>\n\n