Vegetable “steaks”, “sausages” or “fillets” are a no-go! The Valais Grand Council decided on Wednesday to accept a motion banning advertising using terms linked to products of animal origin to name meat-free foods. Supported by deputies from the bourgeois camp, the text received 60 yes to 48 no. The Council of State therefore now has a period of eighteen months to adapt cantonal legislation.
Even though it had one of the movers in its ranks, the PLR group is the only one to have expressed itself against the text during the debates, through the voice of Damien Revaz. “By accepting this ban, we would open the door to many others,” argued the elected official, defender of “economic freedom and respect for pluralism and diversity of opinion.” And he asked the audience: “Do you really think that someone who buys a soy steak is stupid enough to think that he is purchasing a piece of meat?”
“The right words for the right uses!” retorted UDC mover Grégory Logean. For him and his colleagues, the question of advertising for plant foods is “profound and essential”, because it concerns respect for the animal sector and producers. However, currently, “this sector is devalued by the inadequate use of terms that are clearly linked to it”. An opinion shared, therefore, by a majority of deputies, despite the solid opposition of the PLR and most of the left-wing elected officials.
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