MEPs from right to left want to overcome the steak-tofu rift

Greens and right-wing MEPs joined in calling on the EU to move past the clash on animal and plant-based protein.

At an event at the Parliament on Wednesday, an “unusual coalition,” as organiser Marin Vandamme of the School of Moral Ambition put it, rallied behind protein diversification and urged the Commission to take action.

Despite plans to unveil a protein strategy by 2024, the Commission has yet to deliver.

Vandamme also secured support from over 70 stakeholders across the food chain – including NGOs and food companies Nestlé, Danone, and Oatly – to back a position paper calling on the Commission to launch plans to boost protein sources in the EU.

Currently, 66% of high-protein oilseed meals are imported, reads the text.

Overcoming polarisation

Portugal’s EPP MEP Paulo do Nascimento Cabral urged an end to the polarisation over food choices, arguing that plant and animal proteins should not be pitted against each other.

While noting that livestock remained essential, especially in regions like his native Azores, Portugal, he said there was an urgent need to scale up legume and soybean production to cut Europe’s heavy dependence on imports.

“Insects can also be an opportunity,” Cabral said, revealing he had bags of crickets and worms in his office. “I’ll try to try!” the centre-right MEP added.

Cabral also told the audience to “count on the EPP,” which has traditionally been very reluctant to call for dietary changes to eat less meat, to have a “free and open debate” on plant and new proteins – including insects.

But tensions persist. When Green MEP Anna Strolenberg invited colleagues to Wednesday’s event, she got a blunt reply: “Anna, you and your team eat a ribeye steak, and you’ll be healed.”

A vegetarian and self-proclaimed cheese addict (“the smellier, the better”), she said animal and plant-based proteins can coexist, but striking the right balance will be key.

Strolenberg added that the EU needs a regulatory environment that allows alternative proteins like precision fermentation to thrive, rather than seeing them take root “in Singapore and the US.”

Danish Renew MEP Sigrid Friis similarly supported balance. She advocated for more plant-based foods due to their lower environmental impact while defending consumer freedom.

“I’m a liberal – I won’t stop anyone from eating meat,” she said, adding that her objective was to ensure people have choices.

[ADM/MM]