No more “soy steaks”, “fake ham”, “fake bacon” and other vegetable nuggets.

On Tuesday February 27, the French government published a decree in the Official Journal prohibiting various plant-based meat substitutes from using butchery vocabulary.

In the midst of farmers' revolt, the executive is giving in to a long-standing demand from the animal sectors.

“It was a request from our breeders,” explained Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in a message posted on X.

While a previous decree adopted in June 2022 was suspended a month later by the Council of State because it was considered too vague, the new text includes a list of around twenty terms now prohibited for plant substitutes.

Among them: filet, sirloin, steak, entrecôte, aiguillette, flank steak or even ham and escalope.

A second list sets a maximum content of vegetable proteins in certain meat recipes such as bacon, black pudding or sausages.

Also prohibited, therefore, are vegetable “nuggets”, “lardons” or “rillettes”.

“It’s a very symbolic battle which clearly shows the obstacles in the agricultural world to plant-based our eating habits,” reacts Florimond Peureux, spokesperson for the National Observatory of Plant-Based Foods.

“Even if the market for plant substitutes remains limited today, the animal sectors are showing that they will stop at nothing to slow down their development.”

If the supply of meat substitutes continues to grow and diversify in France, the market for alternative proteins – including plant-based drinks, yogurts, protein-based pancakes or fake meats – remains a niche sector with sales estimated at 425 million euros in 2022, far from other European countries, Germany and the Netherlands in the lead.

The Agricultural Show, a “livestock show”

“The Agricultural Show is also a perfect illustration of these blockages. It makes no real room for plant-based food. It looks like a livestock show,” scolds Florimond Peureux.

“The communication clearly places the emphasis on the pavilion where the animals are located. And the plant sector is a big catch-all: cereals for livestock feed, biofuels, fruits, vegetables, beers. There is no logic."

In pavilion 2.2, intended for plants, there are indeed numerous representatives of the sector.

Around a large fruit and vegetable Eiffel Tower there are producers of apples, pears, potatoes but also cereals and legumes.

Difficult, however, to obtain real information on the vegetarian diet.

Only the legumes stand offers a quiz to help you discover the qualities of chickpeas, beans and other vegetable proteins.

Although they have been present for several years, plant-based meat substitute companies are not part of this edition of the show.

“We were present in 2022 and 2023,” says Laurent Gubbels, spokesperson for the Spanish imitation carnival brand Heura.

"Even if the first year, we were a little apprehensive, in the end, everything always went very well. The majority of people were friendly and curious and that was why we were there: to discover new alternatives to meat,” he salutes.

“But this year, faced with the anger of the farmers and the ambient tension, we preferred to cancel our participation. We were afraid that our speech would not be audible in this context,” he concedes, before promising: “ But we'll be back next year."

Pavilion 1, dedicated to livestock, looks like a nightmare for vegetarians.

Red meat tasting platters circulate among the sheep and cows, all adorned with a sign on the qualities of their meat.

Right in the middle, at the gigantic stand of Interbev (National Interprofessional Livestock and Meat Association), stands its slogan “Love meat, eat better”.

For several years, the organization has advocated “flexitarianism”.

But if in theory this term defines a vegetarian diet with occasional consumption of meat, Interbev has made it an incentive to eat good quality local meat.

His book of “flexitarian” recipes distributed to onlookers does not contain any meat-free recipes.

The Interbev stand at the Agricultural Show, February 29, 2024. © Cyrielle Cabot, France 24

Asked about the place of plants in food, the representatives of the organization remain silent.

One ends up saying: “We’re not going to eat seeds instead of steak!”

Another regrets that “we are turning away from our land”.

On the other hand, everyone welcomes the decision to ban the name “plant-based steaks”.

“We have to stop misleading the consumer. Something made from soy stuffed with additives will always be worse than a real steak.”

Comments which take up Interbev's main argument in this debate: "We understand the importance of innovation and dietary diversity. However, it is essential to maintain a clear distinction between these processed products and traditional meat products ", declared its president Jean-François Guihard in a press release on Wednesday, pleading that "the use of codes and names traditionally associated with meat to market these plant-based alternatives" can "mislead consumers".

An alternative to diversify plates

“Scientific studies on the subject, however, show that consumers differentiate very well between meat and its substitutes,” underlines Romain Espinosa, economics researcher and specialist in these issues at the CNRS. “The word 'vegetarian' is generally clearly written on packages, and often substitutes, are presented in separate shelves."

Another argument often used by those opposed to these “fake meats”: their often highly processed nature and the numerous additives added to reproduce the taste and texture of real meat.

“Indeed, ideally, we should favor raw vegetable proteins such as chickpeas or lentils. But we have to see what we are comparing: a soy steak will have a much less impact on health than an ultra-processed beef steak” , defends Romain Espinosa.

For the specialist, the interest of these products lies above all in their “practicality” and their ability to “bring variety to the plates”.

“For anyone trying to eat more vegetarian, it will be much easier to replace their ground steak with a substitute that looks like it, has the same taste, the same texture, and cooks the same way,” he explains.

“This is also why the question of terms is so important. It helps maintain familiarity for the consumer.”

“But above all, we know that the French must reduce their consumption of meat for their health and to preserve the planet. These substitutes are not perfect, but they can help change eating habits,” praises Florimond Peureux, from ONAV.

The livestock sector in fact represents 12% of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations, and with 84.9 kilograms of carcass equivalent consumed per capita in 2022, the French consume twice as much meat as the average. worldwide.

In France, all carbon neutrality scenarios for 2050 predict a drop in meat consumption ranging from 20 to 70%. 

Reducing meat consumption also meets public health objectives, as red or processed meat causes negative health effects when consumed in large quantities.

The government's National Nutrition and Health Program (PNNS) calls for alternating animal and plant proteins.

Also readA blue or well-cooked planet?

Meat facing the challenge of climate change

A long legal battle

But before we see these names disappear once and for all from the shelves of plant-based meat substitutes, several obstacles could still stand in the way of their opponents.

The French group HappyVore, which produces plant-based substitutes for merguez, chipolatas and other imitation meats in France, has in fact announced on LinkedIn its desire to “contest the decree” and have it suspended.

His argument: the text would create “unfair competition” between French and foreign companies.

“The measure will only apply to French companies and not to foreign companies. Imports will therefore not be affected,” explains Romain Espinosa.

While France is the first European country to legislate on this issue, it will also have to convince Brussels.

In October 2020, the European Parliament had already largely rejected a text aimed at banning these designations, with the exception of similacties, which were prevented from using the terms "milk", "yogurt" or "cheese".

Now, Paris is awaiting a decision from the Court of Justice of the European Union to determine whether the national ban complies with European law or not.

“This is the start of a long legal battle,” concludes Romain Espinosa.

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