Een worst mag binnenkort misschien alleen nog maar worst heten als het van Yesterday, a majority of the European Parliament voted in favour of restricting the use of terms such as hamburger or sausage for vegetarian foods. ‘A diversionary tactic’, according to Jeroen Candel, Public Administration and Policy.
According to the newly adopted, stricter definition of the European Parliament, meat is only the ‘edible parts of animals’. A hamburger may therefore only be called a hamburger if it is made from meat. The same applies to names such as sausage, schnitzel and steak.
The initiative was led by French Euro-parliamentarian Céline Imart. In her argument, she argues that it is a matter of transparency and clarity for consumers and recognition for the work of farmers. ‘I simply do not want meat substitutes to be able to benefit from meat designations, which in my opinion are intended to promote the quality of our breeders’ expertise and to be extremely transparent to consumers.’ She calls this battle ‘not just a battle of words, but a battle for transparency, for respect for farmers and for our food sovereignty’.
Symbolic and distracting
‘A stupid and headline-grabbing move’, according to public administration expert Jeroen Candel. ‘But let’s face it: it’s mostly symbolic. It won’t meaningfully change the trajectory of our food system.’ He does see another danger, however. ‘The very same political groups backing this ban are rolling back environmental policy and watering down climate ambitions within the Common Agricultural Policy.’
Candel calls this discussion a distraction tactic. ‘While the spotlight is on ‘veggie burgers’, crucial decisions on climate, biodiversity, and agricultural reform are being quietly reversed. If we care about a sustainable food system future, that’s where our attention — and pressure — must go.’
The agriculture ministers of the EU Member States and the European Commission must first agree to these decisions before they can be definitively introduced as legislation.
The Dutch satirical evening show LUBACH also covered this vote on Tuesday evening.
