Meat Lobby Loses Vote to Rename Products in EU

​www.msn.com/en-ca/health/nutrition/veggie-burgers-win-the-right-to-be-called-burgers-after-meat-lobby-loses-eu-vote/ar-BB1avvsD?li=AAggV0S

A farmer-backed plea to rename products like "Veggie Burgers" or "Plant Based Sausages" was struck down by EU Parliament, failing to argue their point of consumer confusion. The farmer-backed organization made claims that allowing products to be named "burgers" or "sausages" was creating confusion for consumers and would open a "Pandora's Box" of misleading language.

It was argued that consumers have enough common sense to differentiate between plant based products and meat and that using terms like "veggie discs" are unappealing and don't actually do anything to help with this purported confusion laid out by the Farmers. Environmental groups. Plant based companies and medical groups countered saying that a language ban would work against the EU's environmental & health targets by deterring people from trying plant based products. It is quite obvious that this attack on the language used to describe these products is rooted in fear as plant based sales have skyrocketed over the past 10 years.

Meat based organizations are scared and rightly so, the world is gradually moving towards a more green and compassionate lifestyle and the meat industry will undoubtedly suffer the consequences. The root of this plea from farmers is to protect themselves from the inevitable, much like an AG-GAG bill aims to do. When factory farmers lobbied for protection from activists and under cover organizations, they did so solely to protect themselves from being exposed. This is done out of fear and fear alone. One would not need to shield the public's view unless there were things happening that were outside the realms of acceptable practice and behaviour. Such is the case here with this case, meat producers are scared and are looking for ways to target the plant-based industry to protect themselves. It has nothing to do with misleading consumers and everything to do with stalling plant-based growth while hopefully increasing meat-based products sales.

While the veggie burger ban was denied, dairy-alternatives were not so lucky with various "milks", "butters", and "yogurt-style" terminologies on the chopping block. Once again, it's obvious that these industries have recognized the growth potential for plant-based products and are targeting them solely to protect themselves and stall growth for competitors. It's so obviously desperate and a very clear indication that these industries are feeling the pinch from the exponential growth of plant-based products. 

While the EU will still be able to enjoy a VEGGIE BURGER, I can't help but wonder how long until these farmer-backed organizations come after the terminologies again. 

What are your thoughts? Do you believe it is misleading to call plant-based products "sausages" or "burgers? Why or why not?

HAPPY VEG