Debate over eating meat gets heated in Spanish politics

MADRID (AP) — The amount of meat that Spaniards eat has rattled the unity of Spain’s governing coalition. Members of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s progressist Cabinet are clashing over whether to discourage people in Spain from consuming so much ham, beef and other forms of animal protein. In a video released Wednesday, Consumption Minister Alberto Garzón called on people to consider putting less meat on their plates, saying it would benefit the health of citizens and reduce Spain’s carbon footprint. The internal debate ballooned to the point that the primer minister made his position clear while visiting Lithuania on Thursday. Sánchez said, “To me, if you give me a rare, ribeye steak,.. that’s unbeatable.”