The fourth round of negotiations between the EU Council and the European Parliament on strengthening the position of farmers in the food supply chain, held on Thursday 5 March under the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, resulted in a compromise, notably on the details of the designations reserved for meat (see EUROPE 13784/11).
The compromise reached bans the use of terms such as ‘steak’ and ‘bacon’ for plant-based products. However, the European Parliament abandoned its proposal to restrict the use of widely-used terms such as ‘burger’ and ‘sausage’, but nevertheless obtained a long list of banned names. This includes the term ‘meat’ as well as 29 animal-specific terms such as ‘bacon’, ‘beef’, ‘chicken’, ‘wing’ and ‘chop’.
The European Parliament’s rapporteur, Céline Imart (EPP, French), also managed to add ‘steak’ and ‘foie’ at the last minute. The compromise represents “an undeniable success for our breeders”, according to Ms Imart.
It reserves the use of the terms ‘steak’ and ‘foie’ for meat products, and urges the co-legislators to extend the list of terms during the forthcoming negotiations on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Certain terms will therefore be banned for plant-based alternatives, such as ‘steak’, while widely used terms such as ‘burger’, ‘sausage’ or ‘schnitzel’ will remain permitted.
In addition, the explicit inclusion in the text of a ban on the use of the name ‘meat’ for any laboratory or cellular product is, according to Ms Imart, “a decisive step forward” for farmers.
The European Commission is also committed to making progress on the issue of European preference in the context of public procurement, which is a decisive step towards giving priority to European agricultural products.
Austrian MEP Thomas Waitz (Greens/EFA) strongly criticised the compromise. According to him, “consumers know exactly what they are buying when they buy veggie chicken ‘nuggets’ or ‘veggie steaks’”. He accuses the EPP of “enshrining in European law its obsession with meat instead of defending fair trade and, therefore, decent incomes for farmers”. For the MEP, the ban on certain names for plant products is “a diversion designed to mask the EPP’s failure to support rural areas”.
The European Alliance for Plant-based Foods says that the agreement protects the interests of the meat industry rather than those of consumers. According to the organisation, the new rules will have major economic consequences, as companies will have to rename their products and modify their packaging.
Ms Imart also welcomed the other elements of the text, in particular the secure contracts and the requirement for a mediation mechanism to protect farmers’ incomes in the event of a dispute with their first buyer. Granting non-recognised producer organisations an exemption from the rules of competition law will also enable farmers to organise themselves better in order to have a say in the value chain, she stated. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)