She was speaking against plans to exclude nursing home residents from guidelines in the Danish capital that restrict meals at government-run sites to just 2.8 ounces (80 grams) of beef, lamb, or veal per week.<\/p>\n
![\"Birgitte](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2026-budget-copenhagen-municipality-copenhagen-127127239.jpg\")
Danish politician Birgitte Kehler Holst sparked outrage after saying old people should eat less meat because they \u201cscrewed up the most.\u201d SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images<\/p>\n
That is less than the amount of beef in a standard McDonald\u2019s Big Mac, which contains two 1.6-ounce beef patties \u2014 for a total of 3.2 ounces. <\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone, including the elderly, must contribute to achieving our climate goals,\u201d Holst said at the city council meeting, adding, \u201cIt is precisely the generation that has screwed up the most.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her comments sparked outrage among commentators in Denmark and elsewhere, with many accusing her of trying to punish the elderly and force through a vegetarian agenda.<\/p>\n
One politician shared a picture of the daily beef ration in his hand to show just how little it was.<\/p>\n
\u201c11.4 grams of beef. That\u2019s how much nursing home residents in Copenhagen Municipality are allowed to eat per day, to avoid exceeding the weekly limit of 80 grams,\u201d wrote Malte Larsen of the right-wing populist Danish People\u2019s Party\u00a0on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAccording to a politician from The Alternative, it\u2019s because our elderly have been the biggest climate sinners throughout their lives. And therefore, they must be punished,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Larsen also ripped the rhetoric of \u201cself-righteous climate fanatics\u201d as \u201cgrotesque,\u201d adding that it was a pointless gesture.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, we\u2019re not saving the entire world by having our elderly eat only 11.4 grams of beef per day. Denmark emits 0.1% of the world\u2019s human-caused CO2,\u201d he added, hitting out at the hypocrisy of many climate activists.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of these climate fanatics who implement this kind of draconian climate measure have no problem flying back and forth to attend irrelevant climate conferences,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Mona Juul of the center-right Conservative People\u2019s Party also hit out at the measure for punishing old people.<\/p>\n \u201c[Holst]\u00a0apparently believes that nursing home residents should not be given meat because they have been \u2018pigs\u2019 their whole lives. Therefore, they should have lentils instead of meat,\u201d she\u00a0wrote on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n Holst subsequently apologized for speaking rashly, although she doubled down on her insistence that people eat less meat.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/127127240.jpg\")
A Danish politician shared a picture of the 11.4 grams daily beef ration recommended in Danish nursing homes.<\/p>\n