heavy meat consumption sparks a fight in the Spanish government

In the land of ham, the question was not going to go unnoticed and the campaign of the Minister of Consumer Affairs to Spain against high meat consumption he received the quick response from the President of the Government himself, who confessed that he could not resist a “steak”.

“Wherever they put a steak on the spot, it’s unbeatable,” Socialist Pedro Sánchez replied to his Minister of Consumer Affairs, Alberto Garzón.

From Lithuania, where he was on an official visit, the president thus attempted avoid conflict with the livestock sector.

Garzón, of the Izquierda Unida party, associated with Podemos and the PSOE in the Spanish government, had published a few hours before a series of tweets drawing attention to the excessive consumption of meat in the country, accompanied by the label “#MenosCarneMasVida”.

In a six-minute video, the minister detailed – with the help of infographics and numerous figures – the effects of meat consumption on health and the environment.

“The water consumption required for a piece of meat to arrive on a plate is of concern. The water that animals drink, necessary to produce food, transport the meat or condition it, helps to deplete reserves. of our planet ”warns one of the tweets.

“1kg of meat -> 15,000 liters of water”, he adds.

Rejection of the opposition and within the government

His tweets immediately provoked a wave of protests both within the right-wing opposition and within the government itself, where several ministers disagreed, led by the head of Agriculture, Luis Planas.

The minister accused his colleague of creating “a false problem”, and in an interview with Cadena Ser radio called “deeply unfair” these criticisms of breeders, stressing that this sector only generates “8%” of gas emissions. greenhouse effect. .

A “support” which was also reiterated this Friday by the spokesperson of the government, María Jesús Montero, who expressed the “recognition of the meat sector” by the Executive, during an appearance in the press.

Shortly before, the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, had taken on a meaning similar to that of Sánchez by advocating “a diet that allows us to alternate a large intake of proteins, vitamins, a balanced and complete diet, all in its measure “.

Rejection of breeders

The statements of the Head of Consumer Affairs are “irresponsible and inappropriate for a minister of Spain, since he tries not only to stigmatize a product but a whole sector of activity”, criticized, in turn, a group of six associations of the meat sector in Open Letter published Thursday evening.

Alberto Garzón defended himself by arguing that this objective of reducing meat consumption is included in the government’s strategic plan “Spain 2050”.

The 700-page document that explains this program indicates that “numerous studies show that the consumption of meat in the Spanish population is between two to five times the recommended dose“.

The environmental organization Greenpeace also intervened in the controversy and criticized in a statement the “totally irresponsible” attitude of President Pedro Sánchez, “who boasts of fighting the climate emergency and facing a question on the need to reduce the consumption of meat, as science supports it, that a steak in point is unbeatable “.

In 2020, Spaniards consumed an average of 49.86 kilos of meat per person, a figure 10.2% higher than the previous year, according to the latest annual report on food consumption released on June 3 by the Ministry of ‘Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Meat is the fourth sector of the Spanish industry, with a turnover of nearly 28,000 million euros which represents 2.32% of the country’s GDP, according to the National Association of the Meat Industry in Spain.

Source: AFP

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