Politicians do not want to touch meat consumption

According to the UN and leading climate scientists, meat consumption needs to decrease sharply if the world can manage to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Sustainable consumption is estimated to be a maximum of 300 grams of meat per person per week. Even though the carnivores are declining, we are far from there. On average, Swedes eat about 700 grams of meat per week, and about half want to continue to do so.

Several Swedish parties agree that meat-eating should be reduced - but no party wants to see a meat tax, or other measure that would directly affect meat consumption. However, the parties have several proposals in progress that may affect the type of meat consumed.

The policies that the politicians raise include purchases to the public sector, consumer information and dietary advice, with a focus on choosing Swedish meat before being imported. In fact, according to the food strategy, Swedish production of meat and dairy needs to increase, which all parties support.

- I believe that there is a great means of power in information and climate labeling of various kinds and it is also something that we look at politically all the time, how can you further enlighten the consumer and steer towards a more sustainable consumption. But it must always keep pace with the times we live in, says Hanna Westerén, climate policy spokesperson for the Social Democrats.

The Social Democrats and the Environment Party want to see, for example, the origin marking of meat in restaurants. The Environmental Party has also proposed a tax on meat from areas that overuse antibiotics and lower VAT on organic foods. The Center Party would like to see climate labeling on food from a life cycle analysis.

There is already quite a bit of information about the impact of the meat, why is it even more needed?

- Obviously it does, because we do not reach the difference between meat from different parts of the world and Swedish meat, which is becoming increasingly sustainable for the climate, says Hanna Westeren.

SD, M and KD do not think that politicians should go in at all and try to influence eating habits - other than for health reasons.

"Global warming will not be prevented by blaming individual individuals' choices to eat meat or fly," says Louise Meyer, climate policy spokesperson for the Moderates.

- Swedish meat production is one of the best in the world in terms of both climate considerations and animal husbandry, so you can eat Swedish meat with good conscience, she says.

The moderates want to focus on emissions throughout the food sector, rather than on individuals' consumption. Even the Swedish Democrats believe that the solution lies in new ways of practicing agriculture.

- As far as food is concerned, one may find that meat consumption in the world will increase very rapidly as developing countries become richer. This is the situation we are in and that is why we have to have better technology in agriculture around the world. People need to be able to continue to buy clothes and eat food without feeling bad about it, says Martin Kinnunen (SD).

Here you can read all the politicians' answers to the questionnaire