An IKEA branch in Germany has urged its customers not to eat chips or french fries, as it is supposedly bad for the climate.
As reported this week by German business news outlet Wirtschaftswoche, the store put up a sign claiming that chips were too CO2 intensive to prepare, and thus urging customers not to eat them for the greater good of the planet.
“We deliberately avoid fries,” the sign said.
“In terms of processing and preparation, a portion of French fries causes more than four times as much CO2 as a portion of boiled potatoes.”
They added: “By eating consciously, everyone can do something to reduce greenhouse gases.”
An IKEA spokesperson later stated that the furniture giant wants to encourage shoppers towards “a healthier and more sustainable way of life.”
“It is not about restricting our range of food, but about adding many healthier and more environmentally friendly options,” they said, adding that removing or including such products was at the discretion of each IKEA branch.
However, some were unhappy about the decision, with writer Boris Reitschuster accusing the store of “patronising” customers.
#IKEA „verzichtet bewußt“ auf Pommes. Ich verzichte bewußt auf Läden, die mich belehren und bevormunden wollen. Ich will als mündjger Kunde behandelt werden, und nicht als #Erziehungsobjekt. Wie sehen Sie das? pic.twitter.com/Zak0GK7GWL
— Boris Reitschuster (@reitschuster) August 17, 2022
“IKEA “deliberately does without” fries,” he said.
“Well I deliberately avoid shops that want to teach and patronise me. I want to be treated as a responsible customer and not as an object of education.”
Other Germans commented a similar sentiment, alleging that they were being lectured to.
“I had two daughters at home who wanted to explain to me every step of the way what I was doing wrong,” said one woman.
“Moral sermon about my Nespresso capsules. Then they get on a plane and fly abroad. It makes me sad, because I think they were indoctrinated.”
Ich hatte zwei Töchter zuhause, die mir auf Schritt und Tritt erklären wollten, was ich alles falsch mache. Moralpredigt wegen meiner Nespresso-Kapseln. Anschließend in den Flieger setzen und ins Ausland fliegen. Mich macht das traurig. Denn ich glaube, sie wurden indoktriniert.
— Christiane Meusel (@RAin_Meusel) August 17, 2022
“French fries are not important to me, but I want to decide for myself what I eat,” said another.
“Definitely no longer at Ikea, sorry.”
Pommes sind mir nicht wichtig, aber ich möchte selbst entscheiden was ich esse, auf jeden Fall nicht mehr bei Ikea, sorry.
— G G (@GG21952676) August 17, 2022
However, others said they believed the controversy was overblown.
“I never go to IKEA because of their world-famous fries, but to buy furniture,” said one woman, who included a shrugging emoji.
Ich bin ja nie zu Ikea wegen derer weltberühmten Pommes, sondern um Möbel zu kaufen. 💁♀️
— D.J. Williamson (@DagmarW45482181) August 17, 2022
“If IKEA no longer sells fries out of conviction or whatever, then go to a chipper. If BMW stops selling convertibles, you go somewhere else – don’t start crying,” another man said.
https://twitter.com/sitztvornlinks/status/1559998185350864896