Let It Be: The Music Legend Calls On EU to Scrap Ban on Plant-Based ‘Steaks’.

Paul McCartney has joined calls for the EU to reject efforts to prohibit the use of descriptors such as “banger” and “burger” for plant-based products.

A Divisive Decision

Sir Paul has aligned with eight UK parliamentarians who have petitioned the European Commission, contending that a ban approved in October by the EU parliament would solve a problem that doesn't exist while hindering progress on sustainability objectives.

These proposed regulations would spell the end for the use of labels such as cutlet, patty, banger or fillet when marketing products made of meat-free ingredients. Recommended names include the less appetising “rounds” or “tubes”.

“To require that burgers and sausages are ‘plant-based’ should be enough for sensible people to grasp what they are eating. This also encourages behaviors which are essential to our health and that of the planet,” stated McCartney.

A Vocal Supporter

Sir Paul is one of the world’s most prominent champions of a plant-based diet. Together with his deceased spouse established the Linda McCartney vegetarian products range in 1991, and he and their daughters Stella and Mary launched the global “Vegan Monday” movement to encourage people to cut down on animal products.

These meat-free alternatives have been part of a global trend of increased interest in products to act as meat alternatives, although investment has declined since a boom during the COVID-19 crisis.

Political Pressure

However, alongside the rise of plant-based products has come a strong reaction, notably from the lobbying farming and meat distribution industries, which are worried about the consequences of lower demand on employment.

The European parliament decided 355–247 to ban “meat-associated” names from being used on vegan foods. According to reports, Céline Imart, a member of the conservative European People’s party, informed the parliament: “It is my view that such names are products from our livestock farms. Full stop. No synthetic alternatives, no vegan options.”

Wider Consequences

The correspondence backed by the McCartneys and the British MPs contended that the ban might compel Britain into similar measures as well, because the markets and regulation are still so intertwined despite the UK’s departure from the EU.

The EU has a longstanding “protected designation of origin” system for stopping businesses from trading off the labels of products linked to specific places, such as champagne, Greek olives or Italian cured ham. But the attempt to restrict the use of generic terms is much more debated.

The Issue with Meanings

Many of the words that would be banned have malleable meanings. For instance, dictionaries define a sausage firstly in relation to meat but secondly 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 minced meat or vegetables”.

The eight MP signatories are ex- Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former Green party leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay.