Let It Be: Paul McCartney Appeals to EU to Scrap Prohibition on Vegetarian ‘Sausages’.

The famous musician has added his voice for the EU to turn down a move to ban the use of terms such as “banger” and “burger” for meat-free alternatives.

A Controversial Vote

The music icon has teamed up with eight British MPs who have contacted the European Commission, stating that a ban approved in October by the EU parliament would solve a non-issue while slowing progress on climate goals.

The new rules would signal the termination for the use of labels such as cutlet, patty, banger or fillet when marketing products based on vegetables or plant-based proteins. Suggested alternatives include the less appealing “rounds” or “cylinders”.

“To require that burgers and sausages are ‘vegan’ should be enough for reasonable consumers to understand what they are eating. This also encourages attitudes which are vital to our health and that of the Earth,” stated McCartney.

A Longstanding Advocate

Sir Paul is one of the world’s most prominent proponents of a meat-free lifestyle. Together with his deceased spouse established the Linda McCartney meat-free food line in 1991, and he and their daughters Mary and Stella started the global “Meat Free Monday” movement to inspire people to reduce meat consumption.

Linda McCartney sausages and burgers have been a key component in a global movement of rising demand in products to replace meat, despite the fact that investment has waned since a boom during the coronavirus pandemic.

Political Pressure

But as popularity has increased of vegan foods has come a counter-movement, especially from the lobbying agricultural and meat processing industries, which are anxious about the possible impact of lower demand on livelihoods.

The European Parliament decided 355–247 to outlaw “meat-related” names from being used on plant-based products. As stated by media, a proponent of the ban, a member of the conservative European People’s party, stated to the parliament: “I believe that these traditional terms are products from our animal farms. Period. No laboratory substitutes, no vegan options.”

Wider Consequences

The letter backed by the McCartney family and the British MPs suggested that the ban could force Britain into alterations as well, because the markets and regulation are still so interconnected despite the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

The EU has a longstanding “protected designation of origin” system for preventing businesses from capitalizing on the titles of products linked to particular regions, such as sparkling wine from France, Kalamata olives or Italian cured ham. But the bid to limit the use of common words is much more debated.

The Issue with Meanings

Several of the terms that would be proscribed have flexible definitions. For instance, reference books define a sausage firstly in relation to meat but secondly as “an object shaped like a sausage”. Even more problematically, the primary definition of “burger” is often given as a “flat round mass of minced meat or vegetables”.

The eight MP signatories are ex- opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn and former environmental party co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay.