Former French President Jacques Chirac on January 27, 1977, in Paris, France. FRANÇOIS LOCHON
It’s not so long ago that Roland Barthes wrote, in his 1957 Mythologies: “Like wine, steak is, in France, a basic element, nationalized even more than socialized; it figures in all the settings of food life.” And yet, while meat – and red meat in particular – may remain “in all the settings,” it is no longer a matter of course. Long seen as a guarantor of good health, it now comes under scrutiny when consumed in excess – and is criticized in the name of the fight against climate change.
To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the French will definitely have to eat less meat, a reduction ranging from 20% to 70% depending on different scenarios. Even the Cour des Comptes – responsible for overseeing French public finances – advised in May that the number of cows in France should be reduced to meet national climate commitments.
While the government is taking up the issue, few politicians dare criticize France’s meat consumption, which is twice the global average. They are too afraid of being accused of “pissing off the French,” as President Georges Pompidou put it, when it comes to such a symbolically charged food. Certainly, some on the left have taken up the issue. There are the abolitionists, like Aymeric Caron, Ecological Revolution for the Living MP for Paris. Likewise, the Green MP for Paris, Sandrine Rousseau, has also put forward her own arguments.
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Dining and Cooking