Allow It: Paul McCartney Urges EU to Drop Prohibition on Vegetarian ‘Sausages’.
The famous musician has added his voice for the European Commission to turn down an initiative to ban the use of terms such as “banger” and “burger” for vegetarian foods.
A Contentious Ruling
The music icon has aligned with eight members of parliament who have contacted the European Commission, arguing that a ban ratified in October by the EU parliament would solve a problem that doesn't exist while impeding progress on environmental targets.
The new rules would signal the termination for the use of terms such as cutlet, patty, banger or fillet when referring to products derived from vegetables or plant-based proteins. Proposed replacements include the less appetising “rounds” or “cylinders”.
“To stipulate that burgers and sausages are ‘plant-based’ should be enough for sensible people to comprehend what they are eating. This also promotes mindsets which are crucial to our well-being and that of the environment,” McCartney said.
A Prominent Campaigner
Sir Paul is one of the world’s most high-profile advocates of a vegetarian diet. He and his late wife founded the Linda McCartney plant-based foods brand in 1991, and he and their daughters Mary and Stella initiated the global “Monday Without Meat” campaign to inspire people to cut down on animal products.
Linda McCartney sausages and burgers have been integral to a global movement of rising demand in products to substitute for meat, despite the fact that financial backing has diminished since a boom during the COVID-19 crisis.
Political Pressure
Yet with the growth of plant-based products has come a counter-movement, particularly from the politically powerful livestock and meat industries, which are anxious about the possible impact of lower demand on jobs.
The European Parliament ruled 355–247 to outlaw “meat-related” names from being used on vegan foods. Per news sources, one French MEP, a representative of the centre-right European People’s party, told the parliament: “It is my view that these traditional terms are products from our agricultural sector. End of story. No synthetic alternatives, no vegan options.”
Further Repercussions
The correspondence backed by the McCartneys and the British MPs suggested that the EU rules could force the UK into similar measures as well, because the trade and laws are still so interconnected notwithstanding the UK’s exit from the EU.
The EU has a well-known “protected designation of origin” system for stopping businesses from trading off the titles of products linked to specific places, such as sparkling wine from France, Greek olives or Italian cured ham. But the bid to curb the use of generic terms is more controversial.
The Problem of Definitions
Many of the terms that would be banned have malleable meanings. For example, lexicons describe a sausage firstly in relation to meat but secondly as “an object formed like a sausage”. Even more problematically, the key meaning of “burger” is often given as a “flat round mass of minced meat or vegetables”.
The eight politicians backing the letter comprise former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and ex- environmental party co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay.
