Manufacturers fight back with petition against censorship of milk substitutes

In the course of the agricultural reform, the EU bodies are currently also negotiating new regulations on the designation of vegan milk alternatives. A petition once again bundles the unwillingness of the affected manufacturers.

"Stop the censorship of plant-based dairy products" is the petitioners' demand to the EU Commission and member states. It refers to Amendment 171, which the European Parliament had introduced into the agricultural negotiations in October 2020 .

This would prohibit manufacturers from using any terms originally used in connection with milk and dairy products in their plant-based products. References such as "milk substitute drink" or "milky flavor" would thus be prohibited.

Expressions such as "contains no milk" or "creamy consistency" could also end up on the index, the petition states. The same applies to "a social media post or an advertisement in which scientific data shows, for example, that an alternative product causes only half as many carbon emissions as butter made from cow's milk.

The petition is backed by numerous companies in the industry, such as Oatly, Natumi or Lima, as well as vegan associations. As of March 23, 413,000 petitioners had signed. Next target is 450,000 signatures.