Paul McCartney Photo: Raph Pour-Hashemi/Mega / The Mega Agency / Profimedia
Paul McCartney, former member of The Beatles, has joined British MPs who are calling on Brussels to abandon the initiative to ban names associated with meat, such as “burger” or “sausage”, for plant-based products, reports Politico.
If the proposed EU legislation becomes law, food manufacturers will no longer be able to use names like 'vegan burger' or 'vegan sausage' for plant-based and lab-made products.
“Stipulating that burgers and sausages are 'plant-based', 'vegetarian' or 'vegan' should be enough for sensible people to understand what they're eating,” the former Beatles star, who became a vegetarian in 1975, told The Times of London. “It also encourages attitudes that are essential for our health and for the planet,” McCartney added.
“It could undermine economic growth”
The proposed EU legislation “could increase confusion” and “could undermine economic growth, sustainability goals”, eight British MPs, including Jeremy Corbyn, said in a letter to Brussels.
The Times reported on the contents of the letter on Saturday night. She is also supported by the McCartney family, who own a vegetarian food business.
The initiative is part of an amendment proposed by the center-right French MEP in the legislation on the reform of EU agricultural rules.
The project is now subject to negotiations at the level of the EU Council of Ministers.
The proposed rules will become law if and when MEPs and the Council agree on a final version. British MPs fear that if the ban goes ahead, the measure will also impact British supermarkets, given that markets and companies on the continent are still closely linked.
