In a move that exposes the contradictions at the heart of EU food policy, the European Parliament today voted to adopt amendment banning the use of terms such as “burger,” “sausage,” or “steak” for plant-based products. The measure, adopted as part of the broader simplification package of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), marks yet another step away from science, fairness, and sustainability towards deregulation dressed up as reform.
The Commission’s simplification package was presented as a way to strengthen farmers’ position in the food supply chain. In reality, by removing EU-level safeguards and transferring responsibility to Member States, it risks fuelling subsidy capture by industrial actors while leaving small and medium farms behind once again. Yet, amid this structural weakening of the CAP’s legitimacy, the Parliament chose to double down with a symbolic but harmful measure that has nothing to do with agricultural policy: censoring the words used to describe plant-based food.
The “meat-term” ban was added to the text by conservative groups intent on staging a culture war rather than solving the real problems facing European agriculture. The consequences, however, are real: it will stifle one of the few agri-food sectors showing genuine growth and innovation. It will confuse consumers, punish small businesses and undermine the EU’s climate and food security goals.
Plant-based products are not a threat to farmers, they are an opportunity. The EU’s own farmers cultivate the peas, fava beans, soy and lupins that supply this fast-growing market. Restricting their development undermines diversification and resilience. These are the very principles Europe claims to champion.
For today’s vote, there was no impact assessment, no evidence of confusion, no justification beyond ideology. Studies consistently show that consumers understand terms like veggie burger perfectly well. The European Court of Justice recently confirmed that existing rules already prevent misleading labelling. People buy plant-based burgers not because they are misled but because they want them.
Today’s vote is a textbook case of political theatre. While the climate, biodiversity and welfare crises deepen, the Parliament has chosen to debate words instead of solutions. Europe needed a CAP that delivers fairness, transformation and public goods. Instead, what we get is censorship and deregulation. By adopting such provisions, the Parliament has turned a debate on fairness in the food chain into a symbolic war against sustainability.