The Parliament Magazine: 'From policy to plate: advocating for better plant-based food in the European Parliament'

• The Parliament Magazine

In the European Parliament, the contracted food providers seem ill-equipped to meet the challenge and demand for well-prepared and nutritionally complete plant-based food, argues MEP Francisco Guerreiro.

Currently, the food policy within the European Union falls short of ensuring that citizens receive the nutrition they need while considering the environmental impact of their choices, which ultimately affects overall health.  

Not only is EU (food) policy not in alignment with nutritional and environmental science but, ironically, the internal operations of the European Parliament also fall short of respecting such science. 

It is said that change must start from within. However, in the European Parliament, the contracted food providers seem ill-equipped to meet the challenge and demand for well-prepared and nutritionally complete plant-based food. Worse still, the food lacks clear allergen labelling. 

I am vegan and have been an MEP since 2019. If the food prepared by the catering providers of the European Parliaments of Brussels and Strasbourg was good and nutritionally complete, it would always be my first option for lunch as it allows me to save time and run to my next meeting. 

However, in the Brussels canteen there persists an issue of absent and/or unclear food labelling, particularly in the salad bar. While there have been improvements, many mixed salads remain challenging to decipher.  

The ‘veggie hot dish section’ often includes cheese or cream, automatically excluding consumers who seek a fully plant-based meal. Offering cheese on the side, for instance, could make the canteen more inclusive. The salad bar lacks plant protein options, and mixed salads are rarely plant-based. Even the soup may not be suitable for those avoiding dairy, as cream and butter are frequently among the ingredients. 

The Strasbourg canteen is even less inclusive, lacking labelling around the salad bar, with limited options and uninformed staff. The majority of the salad bar options contain animal-derived ingredients, making it difficult for vegans to find suitable meals. The hot dish section, while now offering vegan and vegetarian options, is known for being poorly thought out and lacking taste. 

Moreover, vegan options are disproportionately priced and often more expensive than meat or fish options. Pricing a vegetable tajine the same or higher than a chicken dish seems incomprehensible, especially considering the expectation for the European Parliament to follow social responsibility principles and encourage healthier and more sustainable choices. 

Pricing a vegetable tajine the same or higher than a chicken dish seems incomprehensible

While there have been attempts to improve the plant-based catering, and much-appreciated periods of feedback collection, these efforts lack a clear strategy or informed leadership, rendering them unsuccessful and incomplete. Vital changes include professional training for chefs to create tasty, nutritious menus, clear and harmonised allergen labelling, fair pricing adjustments, and an increase in plant-based options. 

It is high time for the EU institutions to reflect in their internal policies the EU Green Public Procurement Criteria which are voluntary but should, nevertheless, be adopted by the institutions to set an example. Such criteria include targets for offering plant-based food, reduction of food waste, organic food, and so on. 

I, along with assistants and staff colleagues who share these concerns, hope for the next mandate to award catering contracts to providers competent in meeting the growing demand for healthier, professionally-planned plant-based food. Additionally, EU institutions should adopt clear targets for increasing the offer and consumption of plant-based food within their premises as, after all, this is the direction science is advising us to follow. 

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