Using the word "steak," "sausage" or "ham" to describe a product made from plant proteins is out of the question. The French government has restarted a war over the use of meaty terms, and told Brussels on August 23 that it would be publishing a decree on the issue. The information was provided in a press release issued by the Ministry of Agriculture on Monday, September 4.

A mere coincidence? The following day, Tuesday, September 5, the meat industry, led by the Bigard Group and members of the meat union Culture Viande, held its annual conference in Paris. Unsurprisingly, the subject of the now-banned veggie steak came up for discussion. Not from Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau, as he had declined the invitation, but from Arnaud Rousseau.

The new president of the country's largest farming union, the National Federation of Agricultural Workers' Unions (FNSEA), is engaged in a bit of a balancing act. A cereals farmer from Seine-et-Marne, to the west of Paris, Rousseau has also been chairman of Groupe Avril since 2017. Groupe Avril is a powerful agro-industrial conglomerate specialized in oils with the brands Lesieur and Puget, pulses, agrofuels, animal nutrition and chemicals. As he acknowledged in his speech: "The decree was attacked by [consortium] Protéines France, of which Avril is a member and whose president is an employee of the group."

In June 2022, the government had already published a decree limiting the use of the terms steak or sausage to animal proteins. However, Protéines France, a lobby for plant-based proteins, referred the case to the Conseil d'Etat, the country's highest court, which ended up suspending the government decree. Fesneau, keen to put an end to misleading claims for consumers, has decided to return to the charge with a new bill. It lays out the framework of the ban, sets out penalties for manufacturers who fail to comply with the rules and fixes a deadline for implementation.

"On a personal level and on behalf of the FNSEA, I believe that we must not put animal proteins and plant proteins in opposition to one another," said Rousseau, before declaring, on behalf of Groupe Avril, "Protéines France will not file a new appeal against this decree." This was then immediately followed by a qualifying statement: "This does not mean that certain members of Protéines France will not file an appeal."

He has also been quick to point out that the future of the ban will depend on Europe's position. The French court, which has not yet ruled on the case, referred the matter to the European Union Court of Justice in July on questions of interpretation of European labeling regulations.

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