The festival’s main themes are empathy, the environment, and health, while this year’s special theme is gluttony—the excessive consumption of meat and other resources in a consumer society. The festival advocates for the introduction of a meat tax as one of the possible tools to reduce excessive meat consumption. Its goal is to spark a discussion about the impact of our food choices on the environment, the climate, animals, and human health.
Average global meat consumption has risen from 23 to 43 kilograms per person per year over the past 60 years. In Latvia, it reaches 68.7 kilograms per capita per year, which is approximately 60% higher than the global average (FAO, 2024). The organizers emphasize that such high meat consumption is not a long-standing Latvian tradition, but rather a relatively recent result of the industrial food system and consumer culture. At the same time, a growing body of scientific research points to a link between excessive consumption of red and processed meat and an increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, as well as an increase in antibiotic resistance driven by intensive livestock farming.
The event program is available here.