Six meat-industry organisations sued plant-based food company Heura over its advertising, social media posts and product labels. In an interview, Gemma Gaya, one of the lawyers representing Heura, said the case had sought to restrict the company’s public communications but ultimately produced the opposite result: a court recognised that companies can take part in public debate when their claims have a supporting basis.
The dispute began in 2020, when the organisations sought an injunction against a Heura billboard in Madrid carrying the message, “A meat burger pollutes more than your car.” In the main case, launched in 2022 before the Barcelona courts, they challenged the company’s social media posts and product names, alleging that its communications were misleading or denigratory and breached rules on unfair competition and advertising.
The organisations—Provacuno, Avianza, Intercun, Interovic, Interporc and Asici—represent most of Spain’s meat industry, which the article says has a combined turnover of more than €25 billion. Heura, founded in 2017 and selling fully plant-based products, had a reported turnover of about €17.7 million.
Gaya said the claim challenged thousands of messages, including posts saying that Heura liked meat but not its consequences. The defence argued that the organisations had not explained why each communication was misleading, making it impossible to respond to such a broad challenge. It also maintained that many of Heura’s statements cited scientific sources, while others expressed opinions.
A first-instance ruling largely sided with the meat organisations, ordering Heura to remove the disputed social media content, publish the judgment in several media outlets and refrain from similar communications. Heura appealed, and in May 2026 the Barcelona appeals court changed the outcome substantially. According to Gaya, it found nothing misleading or denigratory in Heura’s social media communications, noting that the claim had attacked the company’s overall style of communication without setting out specific grounds for each message. The court also held that claims supported by recognised scientific sources could not be classified as misleading.
The appeals court also upheld Heura’s use of terms such as “burger”, “chorizo” and “sausage” for plant-based products. Gaya said those names are not legally reserved for meat products, unlike terms such as “milk” or “butter”, and that Heura’s packaging clearly identifies its food as 100% plant-based.
The remaining order is limited to the billboard slogan comparing the pollution from a meat burger with that of a car. Heura must stop using that specific message and publish the decision, which it has already done. The meat organisations accepted the ruling on product names but have appealed the decision on social media communications to Spain’s Supreme Court, so that part of the case remains unresolved.
Sources: elDiario.es.