When you think of French cuisine, “plant-based” probably isn’t the first adjective that comes to mind. Yet the motherland of beef bourguignon will host the most vegetarian-friendly Olympics to date, with at least 60% of the meals offered at concessions being meat-free, and more veggie options available to athletes at the Olympic Village than ever before.
The plant-based push comes thanks to ambitious sustainability targets that the Paris 2024 organizing committee has set, with the ultimate aim of cutting this year’s Olympics’ carbon emissions by half compared with that of previous years—a goal that the committee says is in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Hosting an event of such a mammoth scale presents “an enormous environmental and social challenge that we must rise to,” says 2024 Paris Olympics President Tony Estanguet. The 2024 event’s “Food Vision” document states that adding more plant-based options is “the most effective way of reducing the carbon footprint of catering.”
The Paris 2024 Olympics’ promotion of plant-based eating is especially noteworthy given that, just earlier this year, the French government attempted to ban the use of “meaty” terms in the marketing of plant-based products. (France’s highest court suspended the ban before it could take effect, citing concerns over legality.)
In addition to serving more locally sourced and plant-forward meals, the 2024 Olympics will use 100% renewable energy from the grid, as opposed to relying on highly polluting diesel generators commonly used at large sporting events.
A number of plant-based athletes will be competing in this year’s Summer Games, including Brazilian footballer Marina Fioravanti and Australiantrack star Morgan Mitchell, who appeared in the Game Changers documentary.
The 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games kick off on July 26 and conclude on August 11.
To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.
