Highlights
- UK's new trade deal with EU may require adoption of meat industry-backed labelling restrictions.
- European Parliament has voted to ban "meaty" terms for vegetarian products.
- British businesses and plant-based food sector oppose the potential changes.
The Labour government's sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, secured earlier this year, allows British businesses to sell certain food products in the EU for the first time since Brexit.
The European Parliament voted last month to ban the use of meat-related terms for vegetarian foods, following lobbying from the livestock industry. This week, the European Commission and governments of the 27 member states will decide whether it becomes law.
If approved, UK officials believe the law would automatically apply to British businesses under the trade agreement's terms. The Food Standards Agency has reportedly informed stakeholders that UK companies would need to comply with the new EU rules on plant-based labelling.
The agreement's "common understanding" states that exceptions can only be made if they don't lower standards compared to EU rules or negatively affect EU goods in the UK market. Government sources suggest these clauses would be undermined if Britain didn't adopt the EU's labelling ban.
Industry opposition
Joel Scott-Halkes from WePlanet criticised the proposal, stating that there's no genuine, citizen-driven demand to ban veggie burgers or sausages, just a meat industry push to protect its profit margins from a rising tide of dietary change."
Major retailers including Aldi and Lidl, alongside Burger King, argue that banning "familiar terms" would make it "more difficult for consumers to make informed decisions".
The French meat industry and Italian government back the ban. German chancellor Friedrich Merz noted that a sausage is a sausage. Sausage is not vegan.
French MEP Céline Imart, who drafted the amendment, argued, "There is a need for transparency and clarity for the consumer and recognition for the work of our farmers."
