Paris Olympics go green with leaf over beef
Keeping in mind sustainability, for the first time in history, 60 percent of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics 2024 menu is set to be vegan and vegetarian, bon appétit!
Update: 2024-06-18 20:11 GMT
Oh la la la … au revoir to the elaborate French cuisine — cuisses de grenouilles (frogs legs), blanquette de veau (veal stew), beef bourguignon, steak tartare and foie gras, the Paris Olympics 2024 (July 26-August 11) is making a bold statement on ‘climate change’ and ‘sustainability’ with its 60% plant-based menu. The organizers of the 2024 Olympics Games have made the Olympic motto: “faster, higher, stronger” — important words that are greener too! This comes from France, a country with the highest beef and veal consumption per person in the world.
Pret-A-Manger
During the Olympics, one can go on a gastronomic ride with veg falafel, bourguignon with veggies, veg crepes, potato zaatar, hummus, etc. The restaurant in the Athletes’ Olympic Village will serve 40,000 meals a day 27x7. It will be the biggest restaurant in the world. One-third of its 500 menu will be vegetarian, with locally grown lentils and quinoa. With 13 million meals served during the Games for spectators, media, staff, volunteers, and athletes — the focus is on locally grown vegetables. Meals offered will consist of four cuisines: French, Asian, African Caribbean, and international food. Nearly 80 percent of the menu will be cooked from local produce to reduce carbon footprint. It’s a complete non-non to flight food. The bananas will come via boats from the French Caribbean. Other carbon-saving measures include avoiding new building construction, and no single-use plastic plates, (washable plates for the first time).
Eat, Sleep, Play
The ‘Leaf Over Beef’ aim ensures plant-based diet followers have plenty of food to choose from. Gagan Narang the 2010 London Olympics Bronze-medal winning shooter says, “The Games will have over 15,000 participants and the entire world follows the Olympics, so the International Olympics Committee promoting vegetarianism through the Olympics is a big deal. The Olympics is the biggest platform, not just for the athletes, but for any cause. Many of my fellow athletes struggled to get vegetarian food during their tours abroad, especially in Europe. They carried packaged food with them as backup as they could not find vegetarian options. This move will help the vegetarian and vegan athletes train without losing out on their favourite foods or compromising on nutrition.”
Diet is as vital as training for an athlete. Dieticians tell athletes about their food intake. “If that is followed chances of that athlete doing well are high. Nutrition is a subject that needs knowledge of one’s body, mind, and diet plan as per the requirements,” adds Narang, co-founder of The Gagan Narang Sports Promotion Foundation (founded along with Pawan Singh), which runs the Gun for Glory Shooting Academy. They have produced eight Olympians and 330 international medal winners.
Food For Thought
The Paris Olympics has an extensive vegetarian menu that includes meals of dal, basmati rice, roti, a variety of South Asian broths, and aloo-gobi. Ace Indian para shuttler Sukant Kadam, who has sealed his berths for the upcoming Paralympics and is a bronze medallist at the Asian Para Games in Paris says, “It is a great move that the Paris Olympics and Paralympics will have vegan and vegetarian options, this will help many Indian athletes who do not eat meat. Vegetarian food will boost their morale and motivate them to perform better and not worry about what they will eat.” A lot of athletes like Sunil Chhetri and Virat Kohli, have become vegetarian and get their source of protein from a plant-based diet.
Going Green
The vegan or vegetarian movement has been on the rise all over the world including at weddings, restaurants, and now even in the Olympics. Michelin-star restaurant chefs in Paris are organizing vegetarian menus to reduce animal protein and its carbon footprint. For the first time, a plant-based meat substitute firm, Garden Gourmet, (a subsidiary of Nestlé) is an Olympic sponsor, providing plant-based burgers and chickpeas and beetroot falafels. There will be a salad bar with over 30 options, a cheese and bakery section, a hot food buffet, a dessert bar, and a wide range of fruits. Besides several chefs, three renowned French chefs Alexandre Mazzia, Akrame Benallal, and Amandine Chaigno will collaborate for innovative gourmet cuisine at the Olympics.
Aruna Vijay, a Master Chef India 2023 finalist and Chennai-based content creator who promotes vegetarian cuisine says, “Many people believe that vegetarians and vegans lack essential nutrients found in meat, but that is not true. As a contestant on Master Chef India, I had the opportunity to showcase a variety of plant-based cuisine,” he says.
Power Pack Meals
Riya Desai, senior dietitian, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai says, “Eating the right number of calories, with essential nutrients can help maintain energy and boost physical activities. Athletes need the proper intake of micronutrients and macronutrients for enhanced performance, endurance, and strength. Macro-nutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) are crucial in maintaining energy for high-intensive sports activities, muscle growth, and nutrient absorption. Micro-nutrients (vitamins and minerals) are vital for energy production, regulating metabolic processes, a healthy immune system, speedy recovery from injury, and preventing cell damage. “Eating healthy food is the key to maintaining athletic performance. Vegetarians get their proteins from legumes, pulses, nuts, and seeds like pistachios, almonds, peanuts, chia seeds, etc. “The plant-based diet is healthy, lower in calories, maintains the feeling of being full due to fiber content, and aids in weight loss which is beneficial for all. The development of plant-based alternatives to meat products like vegan hot dogs, and burger patties, havemade it easier for health enthusiasts to adopt a vegan lifestyle without compromising on taste,” adds Desai.
Choosing what to eat ultimately depends on personal choice and beliefs. But this year it is time to celebrate with triumphs of events sporting veganism and vegetarianism in the Paris Olympics French style, a bientôt!
"Many of my fellow athletes struggled to get vegetarian food during their tours abroad, especially in Europe.” — Gagan Narang, 2010 London Olympics Bronze-medal winner (rifle shooting)
The idea that athletes need a certain amount of protein present in non-vegetarian food is changing.” — Sukant Kadam, Ace Indian para shuttler
Eating the right number of calories, with essential nutrients can help maintain energy and boost physical activities." — Riya Desai,
Senior Dietitian, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai
Senior Dietitian, Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai
Green Sportstars
• Lewis Hamilton, the Formula One, 7-time World Champion has been vegan since 2017 due to health, environmental, and animal welfare reasons. He has invested in the vegan food industry and is co-founder of the ‘Neat Burger’ chain.
• Virat Kohli turned vegetarian in 2018 after his ‘cervical spine issue.' He says that his energy levels improved after becoming a vegetarian.
• Sunil Chhetri former Indian football captain, is vegan.
• Venus Williams, Wimbledon winner has been a vegan for over
a decade because of her Sjögren's syndrome (joint pain and fatigue). She has started her own vegan business.
• Novak Djokovic, a tennis star who has 7 Wimbledon titles has a gluten-free and plant-based diet but avoids the label ‘vegan.’
He was part of the plant-based sports documentary, The Game Changers. He owns a vegan restaurant in Monte Carlo.
• Scott Jurek is a vegan ultramarathon runner from the USA. He is a 7-time consecutive winner of the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, the only American ever to win Greece's Spartathlon, a 153-mile race from Sparta to Athens. Jurek says the vegan diet helps him avoid injury and recover faster.
• Kuntal Joisher, an Indian mountaineer who scaled Everest has been vegan since 2002.
• Shikar Dhawan has been a vegetarian since 2018 following the paths of spiritual gurus. He loves protein-rich sattu (roasted gram flour) laddus.
• Lewis Hamilton, the Formula One, 7-time World Champion has been vegan since 2017 due to health, environmental, and animal welfare reasons. He has invested in the vegan food industry and is co-founder of the ‘Neat Burger’ chain.
• Virat Kohli turned vegetarian in 2018 after his ‘cervical spine issue.' He says that his energy levels improved after becoming a vegetarian.
• Sunil Chhetri former Indian football captain, is vegan.
• Venus Williams, Wimbledon winner has been a vegan for over
a decade because of her Sjögren's syndrome (joint pain and fatigue). She has started her own vegan business.
• Novak Djokovic, a tennis star who has 7 Wimbledon titles has a gluten-free and plant-based diet but avoids the label ‘vegan.’
He was part of the plant-based sports documentary, The Game Changers. He owns a vegan restaurant in Monte Carlo.
• Scott Jurek is a vegan ultramarathon runner from the USA. He is a 7-time consecutive winner of the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, the only American ever to win Greece's Spartathlon, a 153-mile race from Sparta to Athens. Jurek says the vegan diet helps him avoid injury and recover faster.
• Kuntal Joisher, an Indian mountaineer who scaled Everest has been vegan since 2002.
• Shikar Dhawan has been a vegetarian since 2018 following the paths of spiritual gurus. He loves protein-rich sattu (roasted gram flour) laddus.