Parliament Bern city council wants to go meat-free

The Bern City Council wants to do without meat and fish at its events in future. On Thursday, it passed a corresponding postulate from the AL/PdA parliamentary group by 41 votes to 23.

The Linkaussen parliamentary group demanded that the city set a good example in terms of environmentally friendly nutrition. Their motion was generally directed against meat and fish on offer at city events. However, this demand did not gain majority support.

Thanks to the SP, however, a majority was found that parliamentary events should be meat-free in future. The municipal council must now examine the issue in greater depth. The farewell party of City Council President Valentina Achermann (SP) in December will be vegetarian either way, as Achermann said.

The proposal was generally rejected by the SVP and the FDP. Thomas Glauser (SVP) said that the proposed ban on meat would be tantamount to a dictatorship. Meat eaters would be discriminated against.

At the beginning of May, a wafer-thin majority had already set an example for a meat-free diet. At that time, parliament voted in favor of only offering "sustainable food" in the administration, municipal businesses and leased restaurants.