Czech Government Drops Bid To Ban ‘Meat’ Terms On Plant-Based Products

The Czech government has ditched plans to ban plant-based foods from being labelled with “meat” terms such as sausage and schnitzel.

The government said an amendment it was preparing in 2024 to restrict plant-based food labelling would protect consumers from confusion. It meant Czech producers would have had to rebrand and would have been at a disadvantage in the wider European plant-based market. But the amendment was met with backlash from campaigners and businesses. ProVeg Czechia commissioned a survey that showed a majority of people were in favor of using “meat” terms on plant-based food.

“I believe that manufacturers will fairly label their products so that each customer clearly knows what they’re buying,” Czech agriculture minister Marek Výborný said in an Instagram post last week. “On the contrary, the customer is entitled and knows what he’s buying. I really have no ambition to educate people.” The decision reflects a wider pushback against the introduction of such bans elsewhere in Europe. France dropped a bid to protect “meat” words in April 2024. In October, the European Court of Justice ruled such that restrictions were likely not legal.

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Martin Ranninger, Co-Director of ProVeg Czechia, said in a statement that ProVeg “welcomed” the move. “This decision reflects the opinions of both consumers and producers, and demonstrates that common sense has prevailed over industry pressure,” he said.

A growing taste for plant-based meat

Vegan food is increasingly popular in the Czech Republic. In 2020, the country ranked as one of the most vegan-friendly places in Europe. This is because it has a relatively high number of plant-based eateries compared to population size.

Czech plant-based meat brands include VeganGrill and Mana, which both make burger patties from plant protein. Mana describes its patty as the “first nutritionally complete burger in the world.” In 2020, Belzepub in Prague went fully vegan and put Mana burgers on its menu.

In 2024, the first Czech vegan butcher’s opened in Prague, selling plant-based versions of popular Czech foods, including chlebíček (Czech sandwiches), cold cuts, and meat loaf.

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