Polish voters were in deep thought on Friday, with politicians from the two main parties accusing each other of planning to urge meat-loving citizens to eat bugs ahead of elections this fall.
Law and Justice (PiS) MPs have claimed that the opposition Civic Platform (PO) party plans to reduce meat consumption and replace it with insects, an allegation the PO has denied.
“For the upcoming elections, PO politicians should write ‘chicken eats the worm’ on every poster because that is their real election platform,” PiS MP Bartosz Kownacki told reporters.
State broadcaster TVP Info published a news report titled “Poland’s opposition proposal: Worm not meat” at Kownacki’s press conference. TVP Info is often criticized by the opposition as a mouthpiece for government propaganda.
The issue of eating worms has been featured prominently on TVP Info since the C40 Cities initiative, which recommends actions such as eating less meat and driving less to combat climate change, and Warsaw will appear in a project to “explore the role of cities in coping with The role of climate change “Tackling the climate, energy and cost of living crises”.
The mayor of Warsaw is leading opposition politician Rafal Trzakowski.
But PO politicians and town hall officials say that doesn’t mean proposals to force people to reduce their meat consumption and eat worms are being considered.
PO boss Donald Tusk hit back at PiS’s allegations on Friday, describing the government as a “booster of worm soup”.
Tusk was referring to media reports that the National Research and Development Center had allocated 6.5 million zlotys ($1.47 million) for a project called SmartFood, which involves breeding edible insects.
“The media and politicians have been wondering for days whether Mayor Trzaskowski really wants to force Poles to eat bugs instead of meat, which puts everyone in a bit of shame,” Tusk told reporters .
The Polish Ministry of Development Fund and Regional Policy said SmartFood was not a government program and was mainly funded by Norway, state news agency PAP reported.
