KD's Demand for Meat on the Menu Makes MP See Red: “Trying to Please the Sweden Democrats”

In Falköping, the Christian Democrats have stirred emotions with a motion to the municipal council to scrap fully vegetarian days in the municipality’s schools. The Green Party has responded with significant anger.

The motion, signed by three Christian Democrats, proposes that there should always be an animal-based option in the municipality’s meal services. The demand, which also includes the municipality’s nursing homes, follows a situation in which, according to the signatories, a vegetarian norm is being increasingly prioritized in public services, often without “sufficient consideration for individuals’ needs, nutritional conditions, and traditions.”

In the motion, which Falköpings Tidning has seen, they further state that many schoolchildren experience fatigue in everyday life and point out that teenage boys grow rapidly and that iron deficiency is an increasing problem among young girls.

“Animal-based foods are important sources of, among other things, iron and protein—nutrients that are essential for children’s development,” the motion states.

The trio also notes that the vegetarian trend in public kitchens is often motivated by climate concerns, but they state that “we won’t solve the climate crisis by taking meatballs away from schoolchildren.”

– Full children, that’s what we want. We don’t want tired children, Maria Bruckshaw told public radio.

Green Party Outrage

The motion has sparked anger from the Green Party. In a letter to the editor in Falköpings Tidning, Roland Wanner (Green Party) writes that “it’s not just sucking up to SD, it’s also arrogant and disrespectful toward our meal staff, who serve nutritious and well-cooked food every day.”

Wanner also believes that “the Christian Democrats choose to go against the Swedish Food Agency, which recommends less red meat and more plant-based food to reduce the risk of disease.”

On social media, the Green Party in Falköping is making a big issue of the Christian Democrats’ motion:

The party is demanding “more greens and less meat”:

Want More Meat

An investigation by P4 Skaraborg shows that more than half of the municipalities in Skaraborg regularly serve fully vegetarian meals to students. During a visit to a school, it became evident that this is not particularly popular and that students want more meat.

However, the head of meals believes that children’s wishes should not be given in to, but that they should “think more long-term.”