Paul McCartney urges EU to stop plan to ban vegetarian sausages and burgers

Posted On December 9, 2025December 9, 2025

Paul McCartney has thrown his support behind a campaign for the EU to block a proposal on the renaming of plant-based food items.

In October, the European Parliament voted in favour, by 355 to 247, to reserve the use of “burgers”, “steaks”, “egg-whites”, “sausages”, and more, for products that are derived from meat.

French MEP Céline Imart was behind the amendment, and following the victory, she declared, “A steak, an escalope or a sausage are products from our livestock, not laboratory art nor plant products.”

Although the plan was passed in the European Parliament, it has yet to become law, and needs to be given the green light by the European Commission, as well as the 27 countries in the European Union.

A decision is set to be made later this week.

Now, a series of figures, including activists, MPs and McCartney, have made the case to stop the ban from being approved.

McCartney said in a statement: “To stipulate that burgers and sausages are ‘plant-based’, ‘vegetarian’ or ‘vegan’ should be enough for sensible people to understand what they are eating. This also encourages attitudes which are essential to our health and that of the planet.”

Additionally, in a joint letter that was signed off by by MPs as well as Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney, the Vegetarian Society said, “Although the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the European Union, our markets, companies, consumers and regulatory conversations remain closely intertwined.”

They also warned, “Decisions taken at EU level continue to influence global norms, international trade, and the direction of sustainable food innovation.”

The McCartney family have promoted vegetarianism for many decades, and McCartney also works closely with animal rights organisation PETA.

In November, McCartney sent a letter on PETA’s behalf to COP30, the global climate summit which was held in Brazil, urging them against serving meat.

He wrote, “Serving meat at a climate summit is like handing out cigarettes at a cancer-prevention conference! The animal agriculture industry is a top driver of deforestation and the climate catastrophe that is wreaking havoc on the planet.”

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