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Activists sue Turkish government for ‘unconstitutional’ banning of vegan cheese

Activists in Turkey have slammed the government’s decision to ban the production and sale of vegan cheese products in the country as unconstitutional, with lawsuits and a 7,200-strong petition under way.

In a February 2020 ruling, Turkey outlawed products “giving the impression of cheese” that are made from vegetable oil or “other food ingredients” (translated from Official Gazette 31044, Article 9, section 3).

A Change.Org petition filed by the Vegan Association Turkey (TVD), an animal rights organisation, against several government agencies and ministries said the “unprecedented ban” has led to plant-based cheese producers being fined, recalls of vegan cheeses from the market, and consumers being denied access to these products for the past two years.

“Trying to stop the production of vegan cheese and recalling vegan cheese from the market with this new substance, which has no consistent or plausible basis, constitutes a violation of both national and international law,” it urged.

A violation of the constitution

By stating that manufacturers – which had been legally operating until the new regulation was imposed – are now in sudden and arbitrary violation of the law, “the principles of legality and proportionality have been exceeded”, the TVD said.

It went on to claim that the regulation is in violation of the Turkish constitution and international agreements.

Prior to the ban, it was already illegal to call plant-based products “cheese” in both Turkey and the European Union.

Although countries including France and South Africa have taken the EU law a step further, banning the use of “meaty” terms such as “sausage”, “steak”, and “nuggets” to refer to plant-based products, Turkey is the first country in the world to ban the production and sale of vegan offerings that resemble an animal-based product, according to the TVD.

Lobby group lawsuits

In a statement, the TVD said it was now suing Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, hoping to lift the ban by abolishing the regulation.

The suit also requests a stay of execution against the violations, as well as losses of rights by consumers and producers across the country.

The case is the culmination of a host of previous efforts to negotiate with the Turkish government, according to the lobby group. In April, the TVD said it visited Turkey’s Department of Food Businesses and Codex under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to report the problems, but said: “Unfortunately, no solution was provided and no constructive steps were taken.”

According to the Department of Food Businesses and Codex, even the fact that the vacuum packaging reminds [one] of cheese “can be considered as [a] ‘corruption/scam’ on its own”, the TVD added.

In May, it also filed a lawsuit with the Council of Higher Education highlighting the nutrition problems for vegan students at universities across Turkey. In July, the group further appealed to the Ombudsman Institution to “fulfil the vegan menu demands of vegan students studying at Istanbul Technical University”, warning that they had been “ignored by the university rector for months”.

In its (translated) statement announcing its lawsuit to lift the ban on vegan cheeses, the TVD said: “In the light of the grievances reached by vegan consumers and vegan cheese producers, the association has not responded to their requests to the ministry and as a result of violations, article 9/3 of the Turkish Food Codex Regulation, which prohibits the production and sale of vegan cheese, and 5 of the Turkish Food Codex Cheese Communiqué, [we] filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry at the Council of State for the annulment of the /d clause.”

Public support for lifting the ban

The TVD’s efforts have received public support. At the time of publication, its Change.org petition had garnered more than 7,200 of the 7,500 signatures sought.

The lawsuit claims that the Turkish government is acting in violation to consumers’ right to a healthy life, choice, and access to food under the Turkish Constitution, the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Vegan producers have likewise backed the cause, with the TVD joining a lawsuit from a plant-based cheese producer who was fined under the ban.