The National Food Agency’s New Meat Guidelines Face Opposition – Sweden Democrats Want to Increase Amount

In January, the National Food Agency presented new national guidelines for school meals, which among other things imply an almost negligible amount of red meat per week – a maximum of 125 grams. This is something the Sweden Democrats do not agree with, and instead they want to see more meat for the children.

“Serve up to 125 grams of red meat (cooked weight) per week or 500 grams over four weeks. Only a small portion of this amount should consist of processed meats. Processed meats served for breakfast and snacks count towards this amount,” the Agency states in the new guidelines.

“Feel free to serve meat, but not too much, in order to reduce the food’s climate impact,” the guidelines also say.

125 grams correspond to about a dozen meatballs or one hamburger.

“School meals are also meant to give students equal knowledge about what is healthy and nutritious food,” says Emelie Elin, nutritionist at the National Food Agency, to state television.

Elin refers to research showing an increase in colon cancer linked to red meat. At the same time, there is a failure to mention that it is the preservatives in processed meat, such as nitrites and nitrates, that are the problem and not the meat itself. There are also other studies showing that red meat can help against cancer.

Minister Rejects Guidelines

However, not everyone is convinced that a sharply reduced amount of meat is the right way to go. One of them is the Minister for Rural Affairs, Peter Kullgren (Christian Democrats), who believes that students should have an animal-based option every day.

“It might be possible to combine with the National Food Agency’s recommendations. But I think the most central thing is that the kids eat. And if they don’t like the food, the alternative is that they run to the kiosk and stuff themselves with empty calories,” he says.

Peter Kullgren (KD). Photo: © European Union, 1998 – 2026

SD: More Meat

In Karlskrona, the new guidelines are facing pushback from the Sweden Democrats, who instead want meat to be served every day in schools. Last year, the party organized the “Wild Boar Night,” where local hunters were encouraged to contribute shot wild boars for school meals.

“We should not buy meat from animals that have been treated poorly in other countries. That’s the way we should go, as much Swedish meat as possible,” says local councillor Christopher Larsson (Sweden Democrats) to state television.

Another reason many schools are pushing more vegetarian meals on children is because it is cheaper. Since 2022, inflation has increased by almost twice as much as the schools’ food budgets and one way to save money is to serve more vegetarian food.