German environment ministers have made an unprecedented move that has ultimately caused quite a bit of stir with their recent decision to ban meat and fish from all official functions. The German ministers pointed to its potential environmental impact as the caused stating the intent as wanting to“set a good example for climate protection.”

Germany’s infamous sausages and traditional meat-heavy food options will be nowhere to be found at future events as they will only be offering vegetarian catering options moving forward. Germany has already established a GREEN and progressive reputation but this is a step being taken by their Environment Ministry that pushes things even further.

Germany is the first government agency to take meat off the menu at official functions and is officially leading by example when it comes to sustainable consumption and the debate about why eating vegetables is better than eating meat. The Environment Ministers spokesperson spoke to The Guardian about this decision stating:

We decided to take the symbolic step to ban meat and fish at external events because we want to practice what we preach.

“We’re not tell anyone what they should eat,” the ministry continued in a statement. “But we want to set a good example for climate protection, because vegetarian food is more climate-friendly than meat and fish.”

The lack of meat at a recent event caused a political stir though with Germany’s food minister and member of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), Christian Schmidt, hitting back. “With us there won’t be a veggie day through the back door. Instead of paternalism and ideology I stand for variety and freedom of choice,” he said. He has previously called for a ban on meat alternatives being labeled with the same words as their meat counterparts, accusing them of being “misleading and unsettling.”

Regardless of the criticism coming from those who are itching to eat meat, this is a great step forward and one that we hope to see more government officials take in the coming months. If you want to make an immediate impact on your local city, why not start by passing this along to your own government officials? Show the world that the future is one that is filled with less meat and more beets!