Less Meat, Food, and Transportation: Green Food Trends for the 2024 Olympics

Talking about "green" trends at the 2024 Olympics, we have already touched on the topic of food. According to the Olympic Committee's calculations, athletes and fans will need to be provided with 13 million portions of food during the Games. Therefore, greening food does not seem like such a simple and useless task!

What principles can make food more climate resilient?

• Less food transportation means a lower carbon footprint

Eat Local is a popular environmental slogan with a simple idea. If food is grown and processed without the use of complex logistics chains, it will reduce the carbon emissions that accompany any transportation. Before the Olympics, the responsible authorities announced that 80% of the products were grown in France, and 30% were grown on organic farms, i.e. those that follow the rules of sustainable farming, minimize the use of chemicals and, thus, harm the environment less. 

• Avoiding overproduction and striving to reduce food waste

Let's look at some figures from the Tokyo Olympics to understand the scale of the problem. According to the Post-Games Audit Commission, 175 tons of athletes' food and 300,000 volunteer lunch boxes went to waste.

To reduce the impact on nature during the 2024 Olympics, the following measures were used: careful calculation of portions and waste-free recipes in the menu, optimization of food orders and stocks; an information campaign on the problem of food waste for participants and guests of the Olympics. Food waste was collected separately, for which the Games volunteers were trained. Subsequently, up to 80% was sent for composting, and food sharing was also connected, i.e. food exchange (not the most successful, as it was poorly organized).

• Increasing the proportion of vegetarian food in the menu by 50%

Animal products account for seven of the top 10 most carbon-intensive foods, meaning their production produces huge amounts of carbon dioxide, a major cause of climate change.

Of course, reducing MEAT consumption is one of the most effective and simple ways to make your diet more environmentally friendly. Note that we are not talking about giving up meat products; the reduction is a loyal measure that does not harm HEALTH and does not force participants to drastically change their eating habits.

Thank you for your interest in ecology and green eating trends!

If you want to know how to make production and business more environmentally friendly, write to the eco-project "My Sled": info@moysled.ru

What else to read about food and ecology from "My Trace"

"Will the food sector be punished for high emissions?"

"Agro-industrial sector and environmental issues"

"The Problem of Food Waste"

"How to Eat to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint - Infographic"