‘Veggie burgers’face grilling in EU parliament

AFP | Brussels

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Championed by green advocates as much as mindful eaters, the days of plant-based “steaks” and “veggie burgers” may be numbered under plans up for a vote in the European Parliament today.

Concerns over the greenhouse gas emissions from livestock farms have in recent years driven more Europeans towards vegetarian and vegan diets, seen by advocates as a healthier alternative to regular meat consumption.

But many European livestock farmers -- and the politicians who represent them -- see plantbased foods that mimic meat as a threat, and one more challenge facing a troubled sector.

“It’s not sausage, and it’s not steak, plain and simple. Let’s call a spade a spade,” said Celine Imart, a right-wing EU lawmaker pushing for such terms to be banned for non-animal-based products.

“It’s everyone’s right to eat alternative proteins -- made from plants, laboratories, tofu or insect flour,” said Imart, who besides her work in parliament farms cereals on the side.

“But calling it ‘meat’ is misleading for the consumer,” she told AFP.

If Imart’s proposal becomes law, a long list of labels including “sausage” and “burger” would be reserved for foods containing meat.

That prospect is still some way off. Even if parliament backs the proposal, it still needs to be negotiated with the EU’s 27 member states.

And the outcome of Wednesday’s vote is uncertain, with the boss of Imart’s centre-right EPP party, Manfred Weber, saying the ban was “not at all a priority”.

“People are not stupid, consumers are not stupid when they go to the supermarket and buy their products,” he told reporters.

It is not the first time veggie burgers have found themselves in the crosshairs of European lawmakers.