The European Parliament has voted in favor of banning words like "burger" and "sausage" to market their plant-based counterparts. 

The decision comes on the back of a proposal from members of the center-right European People's Party (EPP).

"A steak is made of meat — full stop. Using these names only for real meat keeps labels honest, protects farmers, and preserves Europe's culinary traditions," said lead negotiator and EPP member of parliament Celine Imart ahead of Wednesday's vote. "Calling it 'meat' is misleading for the consumer," she added. 

But there was disagreement within the EPP, with some members voting against it.   

"We shouldn't take consumers for fools. If a package says 'veggie burger' or 'veggie sausage,' everyone can decide for themselves whether they want to buy it or not. I believe and hope that the discussion will come to nothing," said EPP member Peter Liese. 

In response to the majority ballot, Anna Cavazzini of Germany's Green Party said "While the world is burning, the EPP has nothing better to do this week than to involve us all in a debate about sausages and schnitzel." 

She told DW it was now "up to the Council and the German federal government to put an end to this nonsense, which confuses consumers, costs companies millions, and won't help farmers." 

According to the German consumer protection organization Verbraucherzentrale, people prefer products meant to mimic the taste of meat have names that made them recognizable as such. 

"Terms such as 'vegan schnitzel' don't cause confusion but help with orientation and promote clarity," the organization's food expert Astrid Goltz told DW. 

Supermarkets don't want a ban 

In Germany, major supermarkets such as Aldi Süd and Lidl, fast food joint Burger King and sausage producer Rügenwalder Mühle pushed back against the proposal and called on the EU parliament to vote against it. 

Consumers are well able to distinguish meat and plant-based alternatives, they said in a joint statement before the vote. A ban would "force companies to use unfamiliar terms which significantly complicates market access and slows down innovation dynamics."

A recent study put the potential for plant-based products at about €65 billion ($75 billion) by 2045 in Germany alone, with some 250,000 new jobs. 

'Lobbying for the meat industry'

According to European consumer watchdog organization foodwatch, the proposal was an attempt at slowing down the uptick in people choosing to occasionally forego meat. 

"Under the pretext of consumer protection, the EU wants to ban familiar terms such as tofu sausages or seitan schnitzel — this is not consumer protection, this is lobbying for the meat industry," said Chris Methmann, director of foodwatch Germany, in a statement.

Research by sustainability NGO Changing Markets Foundation points to aggressive tactics deployed by the meat industry, with massive campaigns pushing for disinformation.  

A 2020 study by the European Consumer Organization found that 80% of consumers don't see any problem with names such as soy sausage or veggie schnitzel if they are clearly labeled as plant-based products. 

In response to a push by France to regulate the wording of veggie foods, the European Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that EU member states cannot prohibit the use of terms traditionally linked to animal products. 

Even after the vote, it remains up in the air whether consumers have to stomach new words for their plant-based schnitzels — it's now up to the heads of state and governments to decide.

This article was originally published in German and has been adapted by Sarah Steffen. 

Edited by: Tamsin Walker