Minister says care home residents can choose beef over climate rules

Denmark’s Minister for Children, the Elderly and Housing, Jacob Mark, says older people’s freedom to choose their meals must take precedence over climate considerations. He will write to all municipalities to clarify how the Elderly Act protects that freedom, DR reports.

The debate in Copenhagen followed an analysis indicating that care home residents could be refused a beef patty for their birthday because of the municipality’s climate requirements. Mark said there should be no doubt that older people’s free choice comes first.

Mark said he trusts Copenhagen Lord Mayor Sisse Marie Welling, who has said residents in the city’s care homes should be able to get any meat they want. He described his intervention as support for the position she has taken, but said he wanted to clarify that residents’ self-determination ranks above climate concerns and other municipal policies.

The analysis, carried out by consultancy and audit firm BDO for Copenhagen Municipality in July 2026, drew on a survey of 200 care home residents and 607 people living at home. Between 58 and 60 per cent said they were satisfied with the food, while 8 to 13 per cent were dissatisfied or not satisfied at all. Some care home residents interviewed said the quality of the meat was poor and that beef was rarely on the menu. The analysis also found that residents wanted more say over their meals.