Ecologist lawmaker’s call for reducing red meat consumption stirs debate in France

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - In France, an ecologist lawmaker’s call for reducing red meat consumption has sparked a debate after she questioned the symbolism of barbecued steak with male virility.

"We must also change our mentality so that eating a steak cooked on a barbecue is no longer a symbol of virility,” Sandrine Rousseau said at a summer conference of Europe Ecology – The Greens party in Grenoble on Aug. 27, while responding to a question on how to convince people to reduce the meat share.

According to Rousseau, a member of parliament representing Paris and a self-declared eco-feminist, reducing meat consumption is the most impactful action to fight climate change.

Cattle farming is among the top polluters and contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, according to environmentalists.

Rousseau explained that it is hard to change the mentality, particularly of men, when the image of steak being barbecued is considered a symbol of masculinity.

She was supported by left party lawmaker Clementine Autain who claimed on BFMTV news that women eat half as much red meat as men and it is mostly women who choose to turn vegan or vegetarian.

Rousseau and Autain’s statements have raised hackles among politicians, to respond to Rousseau with sexism, mockery, and anger.

Speaking to Europe 1 channel, Fabien Roussel, the national secretary of the Communist Party, said: “We eat meat according to what we have in our purse, not what we have in our panties or underpants."

Nadine Morano, a member of the European Parliament from the far-right National Rally party, attacked Rousseau’s remarks, and said on Twitter: "It's enough to accuse our boys of everything! Stop the 'deconstruction' of our men!”

For Florian Philippot, president of the Patriots party, the appeal to reduce meat consumption is unwarranted in the given climate.

"We have at the head of the country a madman who wants to cut us off the heating this winter and drag us into a war, but no, we are debating... meat in the BBQ!"