Help stop the European 'Veggie burger ban'!
Next week, the European Parliament will vote on a ban on 'meat names' for vegetarian and plant-based products. Worldwide, this has been heavily lobbied for years, especially by representatives of the meat industry. The Dutch Party for the Animals opposes the criminalization of 'meat-like names' at a national and European level: such a ban stands in the way of innovation and the promotion of plant-based food. “While we should – again according to the EU itself - switch to a more plant-based diet to tackle the climate, biodiversity, and health crises of our time”, said MEP Anja Hazekamp. Help convince the European Parliament to prevent this ban!
Fragment from the Dutch satirical television program Zondag met Lubach in which the interests of the meat industry in the ban on 'meat names' are discussed.
What’s in a name?
'Vegetarian burger', 'Vega sausage' or 'veggie burger'; if it were up to the Committee on Agriculture of the European Parliament, these names will soon no longer be used. According to the committee, designations such as "plant-based yogurt" for dairy substitutes should also be prohibited. Any reference to animal products in the naming of plant-based foods would be misleading to the consumer.
According to opponents of the ban - including NGOs, scientists, and producers - the names actually help consumers to make a more sustainable choice. They point out that plant products are crucial for the transition to a more sustainable and healthier food system and that the current names make it clear that it is a product without animal ingredients, but with a similar taste and texture. A ban on this would not only cost a lot of money and harm producers of plant-based foods, but also directly go against the EU's climate and sustainability policy. Animal products are the most environmentally harmful part of our diet and more and more experts argue that we need to limit the consumption of animal products in order to achieve the climate goals.
Do your part!
You too can help to prevent the European Parliament imposing this unfair restriction on sustainable plant-based products. Sign this petition and kindly let MEPs know through social media before October 20 that they should vote against the proposal (Amendment 171). Use the hashtags: #StandUpForPlantBased, #RejectTheVeggieBans, and #IAmNotConfused and tag the European Parliament in your message. You can also find the contact details of all MEPs here.
Commercial from the European Alliance for Plant-based Foods about the consequences of "Amendment 171", the ban on which the European Parliament will vote on October 20.
The future is plant-based
The Dutch Party for the Animals is committed to the transition to a plant-based food system at a national and European level. “The meat industry is one of the biggest causes of climate change, nature degradation, biodiversity loss, animal suffering, air pollution, and harm to human health. With the current arable land, we could feed four billion extra mouths if we could use the harvest directly for human consumption instead of for meat production. We have to reduce the livestock considerably to deal with the major crises of our time”, said MEP Anja Hazekamp. “It is important that it becomes as easy as possible for people to make a more sustainable choice in the supermarket. The proposed ban goes against that.”
Party for the Animal founder Marianne Thieme makes a statement with her 'Vega Meat' dress.
The same view was expressed by former party leader Marianne Thieme of the Dutch Party for the Animals by wearing a 'Vega Meat' dress during the opening of the parliamentary year two years ago, bearing the names of all vegetarian and vegan meat products that were were available all over Europe. In the documentary #Powerplant, which drew packed theaters in the Netherlands and abroad, she explored the transition to a more plant-based and animal-friendly society in conversation with scientists, top chefs, and celebrities.
The Party for the Animals wants to stimulate plant products by lowering the tax on them and by increasing those on meat and proposes to abolish the the millions of European subsidies going to the production and promotion of meat and to use them for the conversion to sustainable agriculture. All measures that contribute to the food revolution to which the party, together with sister parties worldwide, is calling for.