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Sir Paul McCartney is lending his influential voice to a growing campaign urging European lawmakers to block new rules that would restrict how plant-based foods can be labeled.
The longtime vegetarian advocate has joined MPs, activists and food-industry leaders pushing back against a proposal that would bar terms like “burger” and “sausage” from use on vegetarian or vegan products.
The movement follows an October vote in the European Parliament, in which Members of Parliament backed an amendment reserving several meat-related words exclusively for animal-derived products. According to the BBC, the vote passed 355–247 and would apply to descriptors such as “steak,” “egg white,” “egg yolk” and “escalope.” While the measure cleared Parliament, it still requires approval from the European Commission and all 27 EU member states before becoming law. A final decision is expected later this week.
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McCartney, 83, argued that the existing terminology is already clear to consumers and that additional restrictions would only hinder progress toward more sustainable eating. “To stipulate that burgers and sausages are ‘plant-based’, ‘vegetarian’ or ‘vegan’ should be enough for sensible people to understand what they are eating,” he said in a press release. “This also encourages attitudes which are essential to our health and that of the planet.
Supporters of the ban, including agricultural groups, say the rules would protect livestock farmers and prevent what they view as misleading marketing. “Let’s call a spade a spade,” Celine Imart, the French MP who spearheaded the initiative, told AFP. She and other proponents have argued that traditional meat terms belong exclusively to livestock-based products.
But critics — including environmental organizations like the Vegetarian Society, plant-based food companies and members of the McCartney family — say the restrictions would create consumer confusion, add regulatory burdens and stifle innovation in a rapidly expanding industry.
In a joint letter published on Dec. 5 and signed by MPs as well as Paul and his daughters, Mary and Stella McCartney, the Vegetarian Society stressed the global reach of EU food policy: “Although the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the European Union, our markets, companies, consumers and regulatory conversations remain closely intertwined.” The letter adds, “Decisions taken at EU level continue to influence global norms, international trade, and the direction of sustainable food innovation.”
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In a statement to PEOPLE, a Vegetarian Society spokesperson confirmed that the organization will continue to work alongside “partners, industry and MPs” to counteract the potential ban.
“Restricting these familiar terms in the EU could create confusion globally, slow sustainable food markets and undermine efforts to make plant-based eating accessible and trusted,” stated the spokesperson. “At a time when ethical and sustainable food choices matter more than ever, this is the opposite of what we should be doing.”
The McCartneys have championed vegetarianism for decades. The late Linda McCartney launched her now-iconic plant-based brand, Linda McCartney Food, in 1991, with products that famously included “sausages” and “burgers.” In 2009, the family expanded their advocacy with the Meat Free Monday non-profit campaign, encouraging people worldwide to reduce their meat intake.
In a 2019 interview with the Sunday Times, Paul spoke candidly about Linda’s special blend of advocacy before she died in 1998 from breast cancer. “The cool thing about [her] is that she would challenge someone about eating meat, but she had this very charming way of doing it, so it never became an argument,” Paul said at the time.
“She would say about a lamb or calf, ‘Its mummy loves it.’ We’d think, ‘We’ve talked about it, but they’re not going to do it.’ But then you start to find people like Alec Baldwin and Johnny Depp suddenly turn veggie. They got the idea,” he added.
