Organisers have gone for a more sustainable approach to nutrition Athletes will have meals prepared for them by Michelin star chefs That means fast food options like McDonald’s are off the table
Usain Bolt claimed he gorged on 1000 McDonald’s chicken nuggets when he won Olympic gold in 2008, but today’s Olympians will get none after the Paris Games banned the fast food giant as part of a health kick.
The Jamaican became the fastest man in the world and won three gold medals at the Beijing Olympics eating incredible amounts of McNuggets over the course of 10 days of competition.
Today’s Olympians will get more gourmet fare as Paris embraces a plant-based, sustainable dining approach as the host of this year’s summer Games.
Organisers are tweaking French culinary tradition towards lighter, locally-sourced vegetarian dishes at the Olympic Village in order to promote good health and reduce its carbon footprint.
This means Olympians will be served Michelin-starred dishes and plant-based meat alternatives including croissants with poached egg, artichoke cream and shavings of sheep’s cheese topped with truffle.
The International Olympic Committee has mandated that food must be local, primarily plant-based, and focused on minimal waste.
Nearly two-thirds of the 500 dishes on offer will be vegetarian, including meat-free options like beefless bourguignon and ‘not-dogs’, a meatless option featuring onions and pickled cabbage with honey-mustard sauce.
Hundreds of athletes have already arrived in Paris where they will be fed healthy, sustainable and mostly vegetarian food (pictured, Australian competitors arrive in France)
Popular fast food options like McDonald’s will be off the menu at the Paris Games
Vegan replacements like a ‘not dog’ (pictured) that’s made using plant-based materials will be offered instead
For those craving McNuggets, soya-based fried chicken bites will be offered as an alternative.
All animal-based products will be sourced from within 250 kilometres of Paris and produced organically or naturally.
Leftovers will be redistributed to those in need, and used coffee grinds will be repurposed for fertilisation.
The sustainable menu aims to meet the diverse cultural, religious and nutritional needs of athletes while showcasing French gastronomy.
The new approach to has got some sports fans up in arms, with one even calling it a conspiracy.
‘There’s a thing called protein that all elite athletes need – very little of which is found in vegetables. I think this is a conspiracy by the French to weaken the competition,’ they posted on X.
Usain Bolt claimed he ate nothing but McDonald’s chicken nuggets at the Beijing Olympics, where he famously won three gold medals
Another fumed: ‘You’re feeding athletes, not some feeble vegetarians.’
‘Olympic athletes didn’t grow up on this food,’ pointed out another.
But plenty of other fans were in favour of the pivot to providing healthy and sustainable food options for the athletes.
‘Love the way fools bash what they’ve never tried,’ one posted.
‘Commonsense. Good, healthy food celebrating the concept of life and sustainability,’ added another.
Fortunately for the Aussies, countries have been allowed special requests, so the Australian athletes village will be stocked with Weet-Bix, Four’N Twenty pies and Milo.
South Korea has requested kimchi, while Great Britain has ensured their athletes will have plenty of porridge to tuck into.
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McDonald’s has been BANNED for athletes as the Paris Olympics goes for vegetarian ‘not dogs’ instead – here’s what else is on the menu