Why French Specialty Products Avocado and Foie Gras Are Missing from the Athletes' Village Meals [Paris Olympics]

'Environmentally Friendly Olympics' Pursuing Sustainability
Reducing Meat Consumption and Sourcing Ingredients Locally
Single-Use PET Bottles Banned from Stadiums

The content and the image are unrelated. [Photo by Pixabay]

The main theme of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the 'Eco-friendly Olympics,' has even changed the athletes' village meals. French specialties such as avocado and foie gras have been completely excluded from the athletes' village menu in line with the eco-friendly policy. While some criticism arose that this was uncharacteristic of France, a country known for its gourmet cuisine, there has also been sympathy and support for the greater cause of reducing carbon emissions. It is expected that the eco-friendly theme will be applied to Olympic menus in future games as well.

According to AFP, the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee announced on the 26th of last month (local time) that 'eco-friendly meals' have been provided to athletes and volunteers since the start of the Olympics. Among the approximately 550 menu items prepared daily by Michelin-starred chefs in the athletes' village, two-thirds are vegetable-based. The proportion of meat, which emits a lot of carbon, has been reduced. They introduced beef-flavored stews without beef, hot dogs without sausages, and eliminated fast food such as French fries.

Strict selection is applied to the ingredients used in the meals served during the Olympics. Ingredients are mainly seasonal French produce sourced within 250 km of Paris. The proportion of ingredients grown within the radius of the venues is maintained at over 25%. Meat, milk, and eggs are 100% French, and bread is baked inside the restaurants.

Avocado, an ingredient commonly used in French cuisine, has been removed from all menus. Avocado is a representative healthy ingredient often served with salads in Korea as well. Although widely used in French cooking, avocado trees require a large amount of water?comparable to 14 pine trees per tree?which conflicts with eco-friendly values, leading to its exclusion.

Foie gras, which has faced increasing animal cruelty controversies, was also excluded. Foie gras is a dish made from the liver of fattened geese or ducks, obtained by force-feeding them through tubes in confined spaces. Although considered a high-end French delicacy, the production process has been criticized for animal cruelty.

Spectator stands at the Eiffel Tower Stadium set up in Champ de Mars Park, Paris, France, where the 2024 Paris Olympics Beach Volleyball Group A preliminary match between Italy and Australia took place.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Following the eco-friendly diet, the use of PET bottles inside the venues during the event has also been banned. Water or beverages in single-use plastic bottles are not allowed. All attendees, including spectators and volunteers, must bring reusable cups to drink beverages. No single-use water bottles or cups are provided even at the marathon, replaced instead by reusable cups. The sponsor Coca-Cola also provides cola in glass bottles.

The Paris Olympics emphasize reuse and recycling even after the event, considering environmental impact. Most materials used for internal structures and equipment of the venues will be reused after the games. Aiming for 'carbon zero,' almost no new venues were built, and over 95% of the competitions will use existing venues or temporary structures. Only three new venues were constructed: the Olympic Village, the swimming pool, and the gymnastics and badminton venues.

The Paris Olympic Organizing Committee is striving to achieve a 'half-price Olympics' by reducing construction costs. The budget target for the Paris Olympics is $8.8 billion (approximately 12 trillion KRW), planning to spend less than half of the estimated $20 billion to $35 billion budget of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.