Stop plant-based dairy censoryship
Schouten calls on the European Commission and the EU member states to reject amendment 171 and to put a halt to plant-based dairy censorship. Although we do not develop and produce vegetable dairy, we show solidarity with our plant-based partners who do. If the amendment is adopted, it would totally counteract the consumer shift to more sustainable eating habits that’s urgently needed to fight climate change.
Dairy terms are already protected by law. Amendment 171 would go further and censor all use of dairy-related language, packaging, or imagery for plant-based foods. Words and phrases like “contains no dairy” or “creamy texture” might be banned. The same goes for a tweet or an advert mentioning scientific data showing that a product causes, for example, “half the carbon emissions of dairy butter”. Bizarrely, the amendment could even prohibit plant-based foods from using photos of their own products on packaging.
In this way, amendment 171 would not only hide information from consumers, but also hinder innovation and the emerging sustainable food sector. Altogether, it would be a huge reversal of the work done so far to meet the EU’s own goals on public health and sustainability, as agreed under the terms of the Paris Agreement. Given the urgency of the climate crisis, it’s a highly irresponsible move.
Therefore, Schouten asks you to sign the petition on:
