Euro News: The German men’s hockey team has panned the food served at the Olympic Village, calling it “a disaster”, while British athletes flew an additional chef out to Paris to bridge a shortfall of supply. Andy Anson, CEO of the UK Olympic Association, lamented the lack of protein – especially chicken and eggs – on menus in the village…
The Paris 2024 Food Vision document aimed for…reduced animal protein to lower the Games’ carbon footprint…
The European Vegetarian Union (EVU) welcomed the Food Vision’s emphasis on plant-based options and local sourcing. “This is an opportunity to showcase to millions of people that plant proteins are a better alternative for the planet and can also support athletic performance,” EVU policy manager Rafael Pinto told Euronews. …
“Athletes requiring high animal protein diets is a myth that has been busted a long time ago. Those perpetuating it in these Games aren’t basing their arguments on science,” he argued.
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/07/30/olympics-stir-eu-debate-on-need-for-meat-based-protein
An alleged ‘Last Supper’ parody during the Paris opening ceremony raised hackles, but the actual food on offer at the Olympic village has ignited a debate which reached Brussels this week over athletes’ need for a meat-based diet.
The German men’s hockey team has panned the food served at the Olympic Village, calling it “a disaster”, while British athletes flew an additional chef out to Paris to bridge a shortfall of supply.
Andy Anson, CEO of the UK Olympic Association, lamented the lack of protein – especially chicken and eggs – on menus in the village, and also raised concerns about meat being served raw.
The Paris 2024 Food Vision document aimed to serve 13 million meals during the Games to the athletes featuring locally sourced, seasonal food with reduced animal protein to lower the Games’ carbon footprint compared to the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics.
Following the complaints, Étienne Thobois, CEO of the Paris 2024 Games, announced adjustments, including an increase in animal proteins.
“A reinforcement in animal proteins, with 700 kilos of eggs and a ton of meat, will meet the demands of the athletes,” Thobois told a press conference this week.
Sodexo Live, the French company responsible for catering, temporarily shifted from its initial eco-friendly commitments, stating that “certain products, such as eggs and grilled meats, are particularly popular among athletes, so their quantities have been immediately increased.”
In Brussels, the food issues at the Olympics sparked reactions, as the EU also aims to promote plant-based diets in a similar fashion under its Farm to Fork strategy, the bloc’s flagship food policy.
Christiane Lambert, president of the EU farmers’ lobby Copa Cogeca, criticised the shift away from animal protein on social media platform X in a bid to defend Europe’s livestock sector, adding that it hurts seeing that this situation is happening in the land of gastronomy.
“Prescribers [of these diets] have underestimated the need and desire for high-protein foods, offered by animal proteins, to repair muscles and recover between events and training sessions… need for carbohydrates too,” she said.
She warned that the EU similarly underestimates the diversity of dietary needs based on age, gender, physical activity, climate, traditions and culture.
On the other hand, the European Vegetarian Union (EVU) welcomed the Food Vision’s emphasis on plant-based options and local sourcing.
“This is an opportunity to showcase to millions of people that plant proteins are a better alternative for the planet and can also support athletic performance,” EVU policy manager Rafael Pinto told Euronews.
Pinto cited significant scientific evidence showing that fully plant-based diets can support athletic performance and muscle recovery without disadvantages.
He also emphasised the importance of ensuring proper protein and carbohydrate intake and educating athletes and their teams about plant-based alternatives.
“Athletes requiring high animal protein diets is a myth that has been busted a long time ago. Those perpetuating it in these Games aren’t basing their arguments on science,” he argued.
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
A Vegan-Green alliance is just one set of True Believers supporting each other. Any reaction other than telling them to sit down and shut up will be futile, as they are convinced of their own righteousness. Consent has nothing to do with their cause.
For progressives you are never progressive enough. It’s a race to the bottom.
Bill Gates is a bit of an expert with things Software related. Nutrition wise he’s merely an ExSpurt
From the Greek “X” for “Unknown”, and “spurt” for a little drip under pressure.
Gates is more known for stealing other people’s work than actually writing any software on his own.
The International Olympic Committee KNOWS that athletes are just bureaucrats on steroids.
Did the IOC numpties reckon that competing athletes were only “identifying” as omnivores, never really using their incisors for chomping into a juicy spiced deep-fried chicken drumstick?
And speaking of plant-based replacement products, has anyone tried getting their cans of beer out of those atrocious new plant-based 6-pack holders?
They’ve replaced cardboard and plastic holders with some sort of tendons-spraining moulded compound that just won’t readily release the 6 cans of brew I just bought to guzzle.
It’s this sort of bullsh1t that turns a man to drink in the first place.
I like them.
It’s the only exercise I get and now I’m practically at gold medal level
I haven’t run across them where I live.
Hope I never do.
(If they do show up, time to buy 12 packs!)
Mark Sisson is great …. I have followed him for years. He was also an elite athlete for many years … he knows what he speaks of when it comes to nutrition & athletic performance.
The Paris Olympics are a woke disaster. Intentionally mainly Vegan meals with not enough total calories nor enough protein—belatedly forcing supplemental eggs and chicken. No air conditioning, forcing teams to bring their own. Unacceptably polluted Seine for triathletes, causing stomach illness in several and forcing the withdrawal of Belgium’s women’s team. Inadequate transportation from Olympic Village to competition venues, forcing some teams to move to more convenient hotels. Allowing two DSD XY males (both previously IBA disqualified) to box in the female competitions, unfairly winning gold in both weights.
Reminds me of an old Army joke about used WW2 French rifles. ‘Like new. Dropped once, never fired.’
Factoid. When Michael Phelps was winning record amounts of Olympic swimming golds, his three meals a day comprised a total of 8000-10000 calories—depending on the event. Three caloric dietary components: 40% complex carbohydrates (e.g whole wheat pasta) for slow release glucose, 30% animal protein for muscle maintenance, 30% omega 3 fatty acids (fish like salmon) for anti-inflammation plus fruits and vegetables for fiber, trace minerals, and sucrose boost.
This is a best a PR disaster for the green movement. But the existence of this nonsense reveals the depth that the green movement is embedded in government decision making. The citizens who are voting are just beginning to realize their say in the democratic process meaningless.
After the wonderfully entertaining ‘opening ceremonies’, just how many Nations yanked their athletes from the activities? Oh.. THAT many? The olympics just reduced their importance to that of the Nobel.
Yes, and why did the author call the Last Supper parody, “alleged”
“Reminds me of an old Army joke about used WW2 French rifles. ‘Like new. Dropped once, never fired.’”
Except France has more military victories than pretty much anyone.
For the Olympics it’s true and there are other issues, like the lack of security in the ultra controlled village.
…“certain products, such as eggs and grilled meats, are particularly popular among athletes,
Popular? Oh for crying out loud.
He doesn’t know how right he is. It is showcasing to million of people exactly how good a substitute plant proteins are, and I bet the green weenies at the top of the EU food chain are more than a little pissed at this premature exposure.
I bet the green weenies at the top of the EU food chain are still enjoying plenty of animal protein.
Some proteins are more equal than others.
File under F for Fail.
The Green Agenda is definitely getting ‘exposure’ and I’m glad the world is getting to see the complete lack of logic of their attempt to inappropriately push a plant based diet onto world-class athletes in their time of most critical need to be at maximum performance. Diet is a huge aspect, and this is not a mystery to the public. The Greens have shown themselves for who/what they are, and athletes, the public have seen it. Yet another nail in the coffin….
Good luck finding a roast or steak at Monoprix supermarket. Really missed good cuts of beef while I was traveling in France.
At least they have a river clean enough to swim in.
The modern triathlon: running, bicycling and projectile vomiting.
Too true.
There was no plan B so of course they forced the race to happen.
Well there was: delay (plan B) delay (plan C) delay (plan D) cancel the triathlon make a duatlon (plan Lose)
Inside ever progressive is a totalitarian screaming to get out and ban things that he himself uses or does or eats.
Vegan “research” typically takes athletes who grew up and built their high-performance physiques while eating animal protein and fats…. They then transition to veganism and enjoy their meat-based foundation.
When performance begins to drop, they blame “aging” and retire.
A major change in diet is like a major change in training regimes. You cannot make such changes and expect top-level results instantly. Forcing meat-based athletes onto a low-meat diet is sabotage. Much of the evidence is observational, but a recent Randomised Controlled Trial conducted in South Africa, showed that athletes forced to switch diets suffered an initial drop in performance. Once their metabolisms had been given 4-6 weeks to adapt and stabilise, those on a diet high in animal fat and protein showed a significant performance gain over their own times on a low-fat/high carbohydrate diet.
As for protein levels…All protein is not equal Animal protein is both of higher quality and more available than plant protein.
Availability is the key to protein. Your body can’t tell if the source of a specific protein is animal or plant based but plant proteins tend to be locked up with fiber and aren’t available to humans. That’s why letting the cows eat it first and then eating the cows works so well. The numbers I remember is average availability of animal proteins is 60% to 10% for plants. There has been some work on individual foods but “the science” is lacking.
Animal proteins are complete proteins. Complete proteins have all the essential amino acids in the proper proportions.
No single plant protein is a complete protein. It takes a mixture of multiple plant proteins to get what a single serving of beef, chicken or eggs provides.
That’s why vegans and vegetarians need to spend so much time planning their diets.
I have read that a combination of Millet and Buckwheat has all the essential omino acids.
When referring to a balanced protein the concept is the level of essential amino acids (those which the body can only obtain by eating them) compared to the amino acid composition in the total protein intake. Cows get enough of the essential amino acids by eating a lot of plant protein – and excreting the excess amino acids as nitrates. Which is which why animal manure is a fertilizer.
If you are an athlete (or any human being, to be fair) to get enough essential amino acids from plants you have to eat a lot more total protein and then excrete the excess. That means efficient and healthy kidneys and a large liquid intake. If you are competing and trying to balance liquid intake for optimum performance you are basing this on how much you sweat not the urine being produced – and you risk serious problems if you don’t excrete the urea.
Me, I love kale – but only after it has been processed by a cow into a nice juicy steak! That is my kind of ultra-processing.
Yes Macron insisted the French needed many many victories so I guess they forced it
“She warned that the EU similarly underestimates the diversity of dietary needs based on age, gender, physical activity, climate, traditions and culture.”
Gender is behavior (masculine/feminine) and has eff all to do with dietary needs. Just use the word “sex”. It’s not difficult.
Idiots.
But it gets her too excited.
This reminds me of the coming “sustainable” fuel requirement for Formula 1 race cars. Totally stupid green washing virtue signaling using fuel that takes more energy to produce than it contains. And especially stupid in view of the incredible amount of energy used for the whole Formula 1 entertainment circus. In either case, if the organizers really wanted to “save the world” they’d just cancel the show.
On the other hand sprinters are doing very well due to the increase in high velocity posteriorly directed emissions from an overabundance of beans and cabbage in the diet.
Gute Fahrt – as the Germans say.
“More beans Mister Taggart?”
“I’d say you’ve had enough.”
(Back when VCR machines were ‘new’, I said that “Blazing Saddles” would be my first tape. It was.)
““This is an opportunity to showcase to millions of people that plant proteins are a better alternative for the planet”
If you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth.
How long do we have to put up with the lie that cow farts affect the climate?
“If you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth”
__________________________________________
“The Climate Crisis” is a text book example of “The Big Lie”
People need to stop telling others how to live their lives. Like I’ve said before this whole mess is about power and control. It is disgusting.
Crickets. Crickets are high protein, am I right? Why not have the athletes eat crickets as an example for the proles?
I never saw the movie “The Martian”, but from what I’ve heard it’s about a guy stranded on Mars with no food forced to … uh … re-eat his previous food to stay alive. (Not sure what he did for water but I can guess.)
So, by the Paris Olympics’ reasoning, they should have eliminated toilets also. Recycling at it’s best!
(Is Marie Antoinette on the committee? “Let them eat …”)
I was communicating with a Swordfish (fast swimmer), a Cheetah (fast runner), and a Peregrine falcon (fast flyer). They all preferred to have the veggies pass through some other animal. Although the Swordfish thought a tomato sounded interesting – like a large Salmon egg.
Even pet food companies expect a change in diet to proceed slowly over a week to ten days. An abrupt change will likely lead to severe constipation in humans, and I suspect cats and dogs.
[Is it necessary that some posts are internally redundant?]
At least those who had to swim in the Seine were able to eat a few rats among other culinary delights.
Yeah but they were In Seine
Rats usually seem that way to me.
History tells us of the appalling rubbish dietary advice has suggested in the interests of better health. We seem to have so many petty dictators with agendas in this woke age and the healthiest action appears to be to shout louder than them until they all shut up and listen for a change.
We have brains, all of us, so for pity sake let us use them as individuals and not as a mass of zombies waiting for orders from the far left idiots impersonating leaders these days. They are useless at it so let
us give someone else a turn.
An alleged ‘Last Supper’ parody during the Paris opening ceremony raised hackles,
There was no “alleged” Last Supper parody. There was a Last Supper parody. One of the participants proudly admitted it. There was both the Last Supper parody and a scene depicting Dionysus. I suppose the use of the word “alleged” just shows that you can fool some of the people some of the time.
“Athletes requiring high animal protein diets is a myth that has been busted a long time ago. Those perpetuating it in these Games aren’t basing their arguments on science,” he argued.
What an arrogant, uneducated pr!(k.
Many athletes have trained their whole lives, including micromanagement of their dietary requiremrnts, only to have this tosser waddle in and tell them how wrong they are.
He must be talking about climate science. Dietary science says no such thing.
It appears that the forced experiment by the EVU has disproved their own ‘vision’.
If Humans didn’t need animal-protein then in evolutionary terms Mankind would not have taken the energy expending and huge risks tracking and hunting animals to eat. Mass for mass animal protein delivers all the essential amino-acids for tissue development and regeneration than vegetable matter, the latter having to be eaten in greater quantity and wide variety.
Herbivores spend most of the day grazing for this reason, and have evolved digestive system to cope.
It is in fact the boost animal-protein – more readily digestable than plants – to brain and muscle development which put Man of all the primates at the top.
Evolution is the key.
Animal protein also contains essential fats which, in addition supply high density energy.
Not to mention things like vitamin B-12 which plants don’t produce nor human physiology from plants they eat.
“If Humans didn’t need animal-protein then in evolutionary terms Mankind would not have taken the energy expending and huge risks tracking and hunting animals to eat.”
A truly great example in fairly recent History, is that of the Mountain Men, opening the West.
The restriction on animal protein in athlete’s food , in the absence of a clear and undisputed medical and athletic consensus, is in essence a medical or scientific experiment.
.
This medical experiment has been initiated and conducted without the informed consent of the athletes and is therefore a criminal violation of human rights. The athletes should sue the organisers.
Article 7
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights
Good find.
“The athletes should sue the organisers.” No, the athletes should withdraw (if they have any Principles.
Progressives don’t understand energy density. Olympic athletes need energy. They can’t eat enough plants to get the calories they need.