POLICY WORK VEGGIE BURGER BAN

The Veggie Burger Ban in South Africa began with a communique issued on 22 June 2022 by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD).

In the letter addressed to “All processors, importers and retailers of meat analogues”, DALRRD instructed that meat analogues “must not use the product names prescribed and reserved for processed meat products” under Regulation No.R.1283.

The letter also instructed the Food Safety Agency (Pty) Ltd, the assignee designated for the inspection of processed meat products, to seize and remove any plant-based products using names that traditionally refer to animal-based products in terms of section 8 (“Seizures”) of the Agricultural Product Standards Act 199 of 1990 (“the APS Act”).

The seizure was delayed by 30 days upon resistance to compliance from the industry.

In response to the Veggie Burger Ban, ProVeg South Africa engaged the industry and sent a joint letter on 30 June 2022, signed by 53 stakeholders stating that the regulation in question did not apply to meat analogue products and that the deadline was unreasonable

Immediately thereafter, ProVeg South Africa engaged the industry and sent a joint letter on 30 June 2022, signed by 53 stakeholders stating that the regulation in question did not apply to meat analogue products and that the deadline was unreasonable.

This letter was immediately rejected by DALRRD, which then prompted ProVeg South Africa to look into alternative methods of engagement with DALRRD including joining the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), and engaging in legal support provided by Lawtons Africa’s Pro Bono wing.

After exploring all diplomatic options, the CGCSA ultimately had to ask the court to step in and applied for an interdict against the seizure notice. An interdict was granted by the Johannesburg High Court until 17 November, pending a review by DALRRD. On 17 November the interdict was extended to 8 May 2023.

Lawtons Africa Head of Pro Bono and Citizenship, Sarah Goldman, and ProVeg South Africa team member Anusha Lakha in front of the Johannesburg High Court where the interim interdict was issued.

Other policy work ProVeg South Africa has been involved in:

Game Meat Policy

The draft game meat strategy, proposed by the government, involves converting 1 million hectares of South African community owned land into intensive game meat farming. We strongly opposed this strategy as it was poorly written and many claims were not referenced. We urged the department to consider the impact that the intensification of the game meat industry would have on the environment and climate change targets.

Biodiversity Policy

This was a well-written overarching policy aiming to conserve South African biodiversity. The policy indicated its intention to promote sustainable diets and lifestyles, so ProVeg South Africa provided considerations on why plant-based eating is a sustainable diet.