If the Rio Olympics' biggest challenge was to build infrastructure from the ground up and Tokyo had to contend with a virus decimating sporting events, Paris 2024 has chosen to go to war against an integral component of the French way of life – its food.

At Paris, athletes, staff, and media personnel will be served an extensive Games Village menu, but with a limited spread of what the country is best known for – its meat, cheese, and dairy products. The move comes from a desire to reduce animal protein intake and carbon footprint.

When the Games were awarded to Paris, one of the key factors in the decision was environmental concerns. With most of the sporting infrastructure in place, the only new venue developed for the Olympics was an Aquatics Centre at Saint-Denis. That hall is solar-powered and made from recycled and bio-based building materials.

Paris has an ambitious plan for curbing its carbon footprint – they are estimating a carbon footprint of 1.58 million metric tons of CO2, less than that of the Covid-hit Tokyo Olympics (1.96 million metric tons of CO2). London 2012 had a CO2 emission of 3.4 million metric tons.

Building new venues is what drastically increases emissions. The organisers also convinced four contingents (the Netherlands, Britain, Belgium, and Switzerland) to travel via train to Paris and are requesting visitors from the continent to do the same. There is a robust public transport system and bicycles are available for local travel. But the biggest change is the reduction in animal protein intake.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, livestock farming – the act of growing cattle for food – contributes to 15 percent of global greenhouse emissions and essentially puts animal protein in the same bracket as the transport industry. The World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2024 says that when a large group of people eat plant-based meals, employ sustainable public transport for travel, and make environment-friendly choices, it forces businesses to cater to changing trends.

According to estimates, the Olympic Games Village will prepare 13 million meals and snacks. The International Olympic Committee says 60 percent of them will be plant-based options. The target is 1 kilogram of CO2 per meal – half of the norm at previous Olympic Games.