Olympic athletes face protein shortages in Paris
The 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris are in full swing, and American athletes are donning their red, white and blue with pride, earning a slew of gold medals and making history with several broken records.
Despite their impressive performances, athletes have begun raising concerns over protein shortages and food rationing in Olympic Village, including a lack of eggs and grilled meats essential for fueling the intense nutritional demands of the world’s highest-performing athletes.
During a recent episode of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) Beltway Beef podcast, dated July 30, NCBA Executive Director of Government Affairs Kent Bacus discusses the protein shortage in Paris and other implications of Europe’s anti-agriculture policies.
Organizers underestimate value of animal-based protein
According to Bacus, in an effort to make the Olympic Games more “climate friendly,” organizers pushed a heavy plant-based protein menu, severely underestimating the value of animal-based protein in fueling high-performance athletes, their preference for these protein sources and the amount of protein they would consume.
While serving more than 13 million meals to nearly 15,000 athletes from 208 territories and nations is a monumental task in itself, the Paris Olympic organizers decided to source one-fourth of all ingredients within a 150-mile radius of Paris and all of the meat, milk and eggs from France, 20 percent of which would be certified organic and one-third of all proteins as plant based.
“Obviously, they underestimated how much these athletes would consume, and we are talking about a massive protein intake since these athletes need to not only fuel their bodies but also to recover,” says Bacus.
According to a July 30 article by Delish, British Olympic Association Chief Executive Andy Anson has been particularly vocal about the food quality and availability of the 2024 summer Olympics, noting there has been an insufficient amount of proteins and carbohydrates and that athletes were even served raw meat.
German Men’s Hocky Team Captain Mats Grambusch echoed these frustrations, telling DPA International, “Basically, it just takes an insanely long time because they’re completely overwhelmed at peak times. And then, the quality and quantity of the meals are not good because there are simply too many people coming at the same time.”
In response to these concerns, Sodexo Live!, the French company tasked with catering the 2024 Olympic Games, announced they will be increasing the volume of protein items such as eggs and grilled meats to satisfy athletes’ needs.
Europe’s anti-ag policies have rippling implications
The 2024 Paris Olympic’s “climate-friendly” menu is only scratching the surface of anti-agriculture efforts in Europe.
Bacus explains European producers have seen an emergence of Green Deal policies like restrictions on antimicrobials and deforestation regulations that are “misguided” and “not based on science.”
“I think the biggest concern is a lot of these European policies conceptually make for good press releases and great headlines, but in function many of them lack objective, scientific support and basis,” Bacus says.
He further notes many of these policies, in addition to different animal welfare standards, make it difficult for the U.S. to trade with Europe.
“When they have these misguided policies, even though they may be well intended, they result in additional trade barriers and more burdens for their own domestic producers,” he adds.
In his role on the executive council of the International Meat Secretariat, Bacus shares he has had the opportunity to engage with many European producers on small- to mid-sized operations who have found it hard to stay in business with these policies in place.
“They are seeing a lot more consolidation in their ag sector, in addition to a big push to do away with livestock production in general,” Bacus says. “Plant-based proteins are being promoted and animal-based proteins, in many ways, are not being promoted, which makes it very difficult for the next generation to continue operating. As a result, there has been a mass exodus of producers across Europe, creating food security issues.”
Additionally, Bacus notes it is critical for American producers to engage in conversations with the U.S. government to ensure the nation doesn’t suffer a similar fate.
“NCBA has had a permanent presence in Washington, D.C. for the past 50 years, and we engage with Congress and other agencies daily to make sure the voices of U.S. cattle producers are heard,” he states. “We try to make sure many of the policies going forward are beneficial for our producers and any policies that are bad for our producers never see the light of day.”
“With this being election season, it is the perfect time for producers to engage with elected officials,” he adds. “It is time to speak up on key issues and policies and to make sure state delegations understand how decisions in Washington, D.C. effect their respective farmers and ranchers.”
Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
