Paris Olympics: organizers double the amount of plant-based foods in push for greener games
This year at least half of the meals provided to athletes as well as spectators are vegetarian or vegan.
This year’s Olympics is serving more meat-free foods than ever before as part of a push to make it the greenest Games yet.
France is the host of the 2024 Games, and its organizing committee has created various new environmental initiatives to lower the event’s carbon footprint.
Efforts include using existing stadiums rather than building new ones, using recycled materials in innovative ways (such as athletes beds made from recycled cardboard) and favoring electricity over diesel generators for power.
Food - feeding the many thousands of athletes, crew, and spectators - has also been a huge consideration in the planning of a more sustainable Games.
The Games organizers have specifically outlined their aims in a Food Vision plan, which pushes for more sustainable plant-based ingredients and less carbon-intensive meat products.
The aims include ensuring that 50 percent of all meals served to athletes, employees, and the media are vegetarian and that at least 50 percent of all animal proteins are replaced by plant-based proteins.
There’s a further push, too, with food served to spectators aiming to be at least 60 percent vegetarian.
Additionally, 80 percent of ingredients will come from “local agriculture production” to reduce transport emissions.
One of the venues - the Place de la Concorde which hosts urban sports like skateboarding and BMX Freestyle - is not serving meat at all and will only serve vegetarian food.
These new changes means that the Paris 2024 Games have doubled the amount of plant-based ingredients compared to the previous Rio 2016 and London 2012 Games.
US Olympian cyclist Dotsie Bausch was among those who welcomed the catering changes, and says that fellow athletes are increasingly interested in the health and sustainability benefits of plant-based foods.
“I hear from athletes all the time. They are curious. They are passionate. They want to be part of the change,” Dotise said. “They want to be on the right side of history in our fight.”
“And they also want to win medals. I tell them that premium nutrition is the key to unlocking the potential they never knew they had within, and it all starts with the beauty, the complexity and the power of plants.”
ProVeg International, a food awareness organization which works to replace 50 percent of animal products globally with plant-based and cultivated foods by 2040, also congratulated the Olympics committee’s move and encouraged further action.
“We hope that future Olympic Games will gradually increase the plant-based food provision for spectators and athletes alike, both for health reasons, and for climate reasons,” said Jasmijn de Boo, Global CEO of ProVeg. “Every event in the global spotlight needs to send out a clear message on how to reduce emissions in the face of climate change and plant-based foods are very much part of the solution.”
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