The European Parliament in Brussels where Belgium voted to allow meat denominations for plant-based products.
denominations. The campaign slogan, “Ceci n’est pas un burg- er” (This is not a burger), was created in reference to the fa- mous painting of a pipe by the well-known Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte. Copa-Cogeca says the campaign raises fundamental questions about consumer information, cultural heritage and the power of modern marketing. “The meat denomination debate is not an attack on vegan or vegetarian products,” explained Paul-Henri Lava, senior policy advisor at the poultry processors’ organisation AVEC. “We ac- cept and recognise the consumer’s choice to opt for vegan products,” he continued. “However, what we cannot accept is that vegan and vegetarian products use the reputation and heritage of some meat denominations to sell products which are completely different and have nothing to do with them in terms of taste, composition and nutritional value.”
Marketing Lava has a point. Organisations like the World Resources Insti- tute has spent years exploring what language works and what doesn’t when it comes to describing plant-based foods in the US and the UK. Its conclusion is that the way foods are named does indeed significantly influence their uptake. The Institute suggested moving away from words like ‘meat- free’, ‘vegan’ and ‘vegetarian’, in favour of a focus on ‘prove- nance’, ‘flavour’ and ‘look and feel’. An example provided in the final report revealed that changing the name ‘meat-free sausage and mash’ to one of the suggested alternatives had
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indeed boosted sales. Using ‘better sausages and mash’, for example, boosted sales by 6.5%. Switching to ‘field-grown sausages and mash’ boosted sales by 51.3%, while opting for ‘Cumberland spiced veggie sausages and mash’ boosted sales by a whopping 76.2%. Note that all three examples still use the word ‘sausages’ to describe a plant-based, non-meat product. Apparently though, it seems that European consumers are not overly concerned about product names. A 2019 survey conducted by the European consumer organisation BEUC found that most Europeans are not bothered by the use of meat-related words in plant-based product marketing. In fact, 42.4% of consumers believed that the use of ‘meaty’ names should be permitted provided that the products are clearly labelled as vegetarian or vegan. One in five consumers how- ever think that the use of ‘meaty’ should never be allowed on vegetarian or vegan products. “The use of ‘meaty’ names on plant-based products makes it easier for consumers to know how to integrate these prod- ucts in a meal, and as such they should not be banned,” BEUC concluded. “The denomination of vegetarian and vegan prod- ucts should neither mislead consumers nor discourage them from buying these products”.
Cultural appropriation Pekka Pesonen, head of Copa-Cogeca, emphatically dis- agreed: “If the purpose is to promote plant-based products,
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