Let It Be: The Music Legend Urges EU to Drop Prohibition on Veggie ‘Burgers’.

The iconic artist has lent his support for the EU to reject efforts to prohibit the use of words such as “sausage” and “patty” for meat-free alternatives.

A Divisive Decision

The former Beatle has teamed up with eight British MPs who have contacted the European Commission, contending that a ban approved in October by the European Parliament would solve a problem that doesn't exist while slowing progress on sustainability objectives.

These proposed regulations would mean the demise for the use of names such as steak, burger, sausage or escalope when describing products based on meat-free ingredients. Recommended names include the less appetising “discs” or “tubes”.

“To stipulate that burgers and sausages are ‘vegan’ should be adequate for the average person to grasp what they are eating. This also promotes mindsets which are crucial to our well-being and that of the Earth,” stated McCartney.

A Prominent Campaigner

McCartney is one of the world’s most high-profile proponents of a plant-based diet. He and his late wife established the Linda McCartney meat-free food line in 1991, and he and their daughters Mary and Stella launched the global “Vegan Monday” campaign to inspire people to reduce meat consumption.

These meat-free alternatives have been part of a global shift of growing popularity in products to act as meat alternatives, although investment has waned since a bubble during the global pandemic.

Political Pressure

Yet with the growth of plant-based products has come a strong reaction, notably from the politically powerful farming and meat distribution industries, which are worried about the consequences of lower demand on livelihoods.

The European Parliament decided 355–247 to ban “meat-associated” names from being used on vegan foods. Per news sources, a proponent of the ban, a representative of the centre-right European People’s party, told the parliament: “I believe that these traditional terms are products from our livestock farms. End of story. No laboratory substitutes, no vegetarian versions.”

Further Repercussions

The petition signed by the McCartneys and the British MPs argued that the European regulations may pressure the UK into changes as well, because the markets and regulation are still so intertwined notwithstanding the UK’s exit from the EU.

The EU has a longstanding “geographical indication” system for stopping businesses from capitalizing on the titles of products from certain locales, such as champagne, Kalamata olives or Parma ham. But the attempt to limit the use of common words is far more contentious.

The Problem of Definitions

A number of the words that would be forbidden have fluid interpretations. For instance, lexicons describe a sausage primarily in relation to meat but additionally as “an object shaped like a sausage”. Further complicating the issue, the main description of “burger” is often given as a “flat round mass of chopped animal or plant matter”.

The eight politicians backing the letter comprise ex- Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and ex- environmental party co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay.