Oktoberbest has become the latest divisive tradition — because a beer vendor is serving expensive organic chicken that has ruffled some feathers.
Paulaner’s switch of the festival tent to all-organic chickens has left revelers divided between those who hope to see a greater emphasis on sustainability at the annual German beer festival and others who want to preserve tradition — with the latter complaining about what they call as “Woke Wiesn,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
“It’s an experiment,” Arabella Schörghuber, who runs the Paulaner Festzelt, told the newspaper. “It is more expensive, but the quality is higher. We want to make sure that the animal has a good life. We’ll see what happens.”
At least one of the tens of thousands of people who attended the celebration in Munich Saturday was turned off by the change.
Andrea Koerner, 56, usually orders the chicken when she attends Oktoberfest each year but the higher price tag — at 20.50 euros or $22 USD, about 50% more than the non-organic option — made her stop with tradition.
“We don’t know what it’s like because it’s too expensive to try,” Koerner told the Journal.
At least one of the tens of thousands of people who attended the festival in Munich on Saturday was turned off by the change. Kitchen staff preparing chicken in 2009. AFP via Getty Images
Andrea Koerner (not pictured) usually orders chicken when she attends Oktoberfest each year but the higher price tag — at 20.50 euros or $22 USD, about 50% more than the non-organic option — made her take a break from tradition.Getty Images
Instead, he ate pretzels and cheese spread.
Other festival-goers told the publication that the taste of the chicken was worth the increased cost.
The change was prompted by a group of activists who demanded that the Bavarian festival promote organic farms.
The group staged a graphic demonstration in the city’s central square featuring fake bloody chicken heads to protest industrial slaughter, according to the Journal.
Organic chicken — the most popular food on the 18-day feast — is also easier to consume than beer made from organic hops and barley. Attendees typically drink around seven million liters of beer each year.
Organic chicken — the most popular food on the 18-day feast — is also easier to consume than beer made from organic hops and barley. Attendees typically drink around seven million liters of beer each year. NurPhoto via Getty Images
Officials say the switch also puts the big event on track to meet the city’s goal of becoming climate neutral by 2035 and helps the association of the 15 largest festival tents move toward their own pledge to become climate neutral a year earlier — by 2028.
But some say the move could result in negative advertising for Oktoberfest.
“It must remain a traditional volksfest, because otherwise it won’t be interesting,” Clemens Baumgärtner, an official overseeing the festival and a member of the conservative CSU, told the Journal. “If you talk about being awake on the other 340 days of the year, nobody really listens. But if you talk about being awake on Oktoberfest, you get a lot of media attention.
Still, others say that change is a normal part of the course for the 213-year-old festival.
“The Wiesn needs to change because it has been changing for decades,” said Lukas Bulka, who started working in Oktoberfest tents as a teenager and now runs the city’s Beer and Oktoberfest Museum, according to the outlet.
The feast already uses renewable energy and bans disposable tableware and utensils, he said.
But the production and transport of festive beer is a bigger polluter. In 2019, it created 66 metric tons of carbon dioxide, according to one of Oktoberfest’s official breweries.
Officials say the switch also puts the massive event on track to meet the city’s goal of becoming climate neutral by 2035.ZUMAPRESS.com
While chicken is on the table for an update, board members of the Munich Food Council say it’s unlikely the drink will change anytime soon to become more sustainable.
“That’s not easy in Munich,” says Susanne Kiehl. “That’s almost like a religion.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
