The Dutch capital wants to set an example to other cities around the world by taking meat off of their menus. Amsterdam’s city council has recently announced plans to serve vegetarian food as standard at all catered events in its buildings from next year onward. Meetings in the Dutch capital will be meat-free unless attendees specifically request otherwise. The initiative, called ‘Carnivore? Let us know’, follows a campaign led by the Party for the Animals (yes, there’s a political party dedicated to animals) proposing serving vegan food by default, but which was considered a step too far in the dairy-loving Netherlands.
Under the plan guests will still be able to eat meat and fish, but only if they request it in advance. When the city’s new caterer is chosen, all catered events should then have veggie dogs, cheese balls and vegetable snacks as default. Amsterdam is following in the steps of the national Dutch education, culture and science ministry, which adopted the vegetarian-first rule late last year. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment has in recent years repeatedly called for citizens to eat less red and processed meats to improve their health and reduce their environmental impact.
