Le Figaro Lyon
“Plant-based steaks”, “vegan sausages”, “meat-free bacon”… A decree published this Tuesday by the government now prohibits the use of names linked to products of animal origin for meat-free products.
A measure, praised on Twitter by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, in a context of strong tension between the executive and the agricultural world, which is having difficulty getting through to the Lyon environmentalist ranks.
“Whatever we think about substitute plant products and their names, why penalize only our French companies in this field, some of which are very promising?”,
questioned Bruno Bernard, EELV president of the Lyon metropolis
.
And added:
“Whether you are for or against these products, the result will be this: foods produced in France will be subject to additional regulations and imported products will not be.
You will therefore always see “vegetable steaks”, “vegetable sausages”, “vegetable ham” on your shelves.
But they just won't be produced in France.
A criticism shared by the deputy for the 3rd constituency of Rhône Marie-Charlotte Garin: “
We are taken for nuggets by imagining for a single moment that one day someone buys a vegetable steak and says to themselves “oh, I’m disappointed, I thought there was a dead animal in there??”
“The disconnection from this government... it’s becoming abysmal.
Whenever there is a problem, he blames others.
This time, vegetarians,”
added Benjamin Badouard, co-president of the environmental group in Greater Lyon.
The text published by the government is a long-standing demand from stakeholders in the animal sector, who believe that terms like
“vegetable ham”
or
“vegetarian bacon”
can create confusion among consumers.
“It is an issue of transparency and loyalty which meets a legitimate expectation of consumers and producers
,” said the Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, at the end of summer 2023.
The new rules of the decree will come into force on May 1.
Products manufactured before this date may be sold while stocks last, for one year.