Are people in nursing homes given sufficient meat options on their menus in Copenhagen?
That question has Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of the Social Democrats (Socialdemokratiet) in a social media back-and-forth with the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Sisse Marie Welling of the Green Left (Socialistisk Folkeparti).
The conflict started due to a post Frederiksen made on Instagram on Monday, where Welling commented, accusing the Prime Minister of helping to “create a false picture of what is going on in Copenhagen”.
No meat on your birthday
The conflict arose from an article in Berlingske over the weekend that looked into food in elderly care in Copenhagen.
The analysis presented in the article found that multiple people interviewed (out of just over 800 total respondents) were unhappy with the amount of meat in the food.
The article also mentioned an incident in which an elderly person had been refused food on their birthday due to climate-related considerations.
However, the analysis also found that the majority of respondents were satisfied with the quality of the food they receive.
“It is a lack of respect”
This article, it would seem, led the Prime Minister to take to social media to share her frustrations with what she perceived as a lack of meat options for elderly people in Copenhagen.
She started the post with an anecdote and a reflection on the consumption of meat from when she was younger: “In my lifetime, the plate has changed. When I was a child, we got frikadeller, medister, and hakkebøffer. And then a little side dish.
“Yesterday, we had lots of vegetables and a little meat. Habits change, and the price of meat has also influenced many Danish families.”
She then went on to write that “the idea that elderly people in nursing homes cannot get the meat they want is simply wrong, in my view – as is being proposed in Copenhagen”.
She went on to argue that “it shows a lack of respect for the elderly person’s right to make their own decisions. It is a lack of empathy and understanding of the life that has been lived. And it is completely out of proportion.
“The people in nursing homes who have worked hard and toiled for our country should of course be allowed to eat meat”.
“A false picture of what is going on”
The Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, however, was not pleased with this post, and in a comment on the Instagram post she wrote, “This is simply not correct.”
Sisse Marie Welling went on to write that “nursing homes can decide for themselves how to put the menu together and how much meat they want to serve, and thereby take into account the needs and wishes of the elderly.
“I have great respect for you as Prime Minister. That is also why it disappoints me that you are helping to create a false picture of what is going on in Copenhagen”.
Welling went on to argue that “unfortunately, the debate about food in Copenhagen’s nursing homes has been disconnected from the reality that the elderly experience in those homes. This is helping to create a lot of uncertainty for the elderly, which I am sorry about.
“Of course there should be both hakkebøffer, stegt flæsk and frikadeller – both on ordinary days and for birthdays – at the same time as we take food waste and other climate considerations into account where we can”.
No response from the Prime Minister
Frederiksen has not responded to Welling. She has also not commented to the Danish news media.
Welling is not the only politician to have criticised the Prime Minister. A member of Copenhagen’s Municipal Health and Care Committee, Jakob Skygge of the Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre), also chimed in.
He wrote that “we are always happy to discuss whether the policy we pursue in Copenhagen is the right one. But we would like to do so on an informed and equal basis”.
Municipality sets guidelines, care homes set menu
It should be noted that the Municipal Council in Copenhagen does indeed set guidelines and requirements for social care facilities.
This includes requirements on nutrition as well as on the climate impact on the food that is served.
However, it is up to the individual nursing homes’ leadership to set the specific menus based on the guidelines provided from the local political level.
