Press release: European Parliament votes: a burger can’t be a burger anymore
The European Parliament just voted to ban 29 ‘meat-like’ terms for plant-based foods, including words like bacon, chicken and beef. The Members of Parliament voted to go beyond the Commissions’ proposal, also banning the coupling of plant-based foods with everyday terms such as sausage, burger, and even eggs, following the proposal of the EU Parliament’s Agriculture Committee.
If the Council also adopts this proposal, and all parties agree to take this forward during the trilogue negotiation, this means a veggie burger could no longer be called a burger…Even though consumers clearly know it does not contain meat.
Why is this problematic?
- This move will bring more bureaucracy: rewriting packaging, inventing new names, and creating costly compliance hurdles for businesses.
- The EU’s own Court of Justice declared in 2024 that current legislation already protects consumers.[1]
- The Parliament rejected a similar ban in 2020 [2], confirming people know the difference between a veggie burger and a beef burger.
- Plant-based foods are crucial for Europe’s climate, health, animal welfare, and food security goals.
- Surveys show that up to 80% of consumers have no problem with familiar terms like burger or sausage on clearly labelled plant-based products. [3] Forcing new names could actually cause more confusion.
- This seriously risks slowing down the food transition we urgently need.
Marilda Dhaskali, Senior Agriculture and Land-use Policy Officer: “It’s utterly nonsensical that our elected officials are wasting time – and taxpayer money – on a non-issue like this. One would think, we have bigger problems to solve. Our food system is the leading driver for biodiversity loss, carbon emissions, and nitrogen pollution. Plant-based foods are a solution, and this vote actively works against the progress being made.”
We call on the European Commission, European Parliament, and European Council to immediately withdraw this proposal. [4]
ENDS
Notes to editor:
[1] Survey on meat consumption by the European Consumer Organisation: /https://www.beuc.eu/sites/default/files/publications/beuc-x-2020-042_consumers_and_the_transition_to_sustainable_food.pdf
[3] https://www.euractiv.com/news/meps-save-veggie-burger-from-denomination-ban/
[4] 400+ organisations, including BirdLife Europe, signed this open letter: https://www.noconfusion.org/
Brussels, 08.10.2025
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