The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) has joined calls for banning the use of dairy or meat terminology to promote or advertise vegetarian or synthetic foods.
The European Commission has been under pressure to restrict the employment of terms such as sausage, burger and schnitzel in vegetarian or vegan foods.
ICMSA president Denis Drennan said such naming of foods constitutes a breach of any trade descriptions act as commonly understood, describing it as “camouflage”.
“Obviously, people are free to eat whatever they want, but it is a matter of considerable irritation to farmers to see the very people and corporations who want to replace our naturally produced meat and dairy with their own non-meat and non-dairy products very deliberately using the terms that they know are generally understood to refer to traditional dairy and meat products,” he said.
“They want to use our terminology and the acceptance borne of centuries that those terms have amongst the general public to effectively smuggle their own products past a sceptical public.”
Non-meat products
The ICMSA said the impetus for the banning of these meat-related terms was coming from the European Parliament.
Drennan added it is disingenuous and cynical for companies to label products without convincing “consumers by their own efforts or merits”.
“These corporations - and it’s generally corporations - are quite deliberately playing on people’s desire for healthy, traditional, meat-based foodstuffs, while actually substituting real meal ingredients with cheaper and more processed vegetable and plant-derived elements,” he added.
“And rather than come up with their own terms and descriptions, they simply appropriate the names of the very foods they’re trying to replace and supplant.”
Read more
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The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) has joined calls for banning the use of dairy or meat terminology to promote or advertise vegetarian or synthetic foods.
The European Commission has been under pressure to restrict the employment of terms such as sausage, burger and schnitzel in vegetarian or vegan foods.
ICMSA president Denis Drennan said such naming of foods constitutes a breach of any trade descriptions act as commonly understood, describing it as “camouflage”.
“Obviously, people are free to eat whatever they want, but it is a matter of considerable irritation to farmers to see the very people and corporations who want to replace our naturally produced meat and dairy with their own non-meat and non-dairy products very deliberately using the terms that they know are generally understood to refer to traditional dairy and meat products,” he said.
“They want to use our terminology and the acceptance borne of centuries that those terms have amongst the general public to effectively smuggle their own products past a sceptical public.”
Non-meat products
The ICMSA said the impetus for the banning of these meat-related terms was coming from the European Parliament.
Drennan added it is disingenuous and cynical for companies to label products without convincing “consumers by their own efforts or merits”.
“These corporations - and it’s generally corporations - are quite deliberately playing on people’s desire for healthy, traditional, meat-based foodstuffs, while actually substituting real meal ingredients with cheaper and more processed vegetable and plant-derived elements,” he added.
“And rather than come up with their own terms and descriptions, they simply appropriate the names of the very foods they’re trying to replace and supplant.”
Read more
Court rules in favour of plant-based 'burgers'
Athletes criticise lack of meat at Olympics
France delays implementing meat-naming law
Beyond Meat reflects category's problems
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