In the run-up to this evening, he has already had to explain about twenty times that it is not strange. Gert-Jan Oplaat, Member of Parliament for the BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB), says it with a grin, in the Nieuwspoort press center. Oplaat is organizing the successor to the Binnenhof barbecue, primarily as chairman of the Association of the Dutch Poultry Processing Industry. It is an event where the meat processing industry ends its contacts in The Hague and where the political year was traditionally closed.
This year it will be under a different name, NLVoedt, without a grill and with more organizers than just meat processors, says Oplaat. This year it is a buffet, also with vegetarian snacks. The menu includes grilled lamb kebabs and roast duck breast, as well as candied kohlrabi and a Dutch cheese fondue. Because this time, in addition to the meat industry, the fish, dairy, fruit and vegetable industry is also participating.
Members of parliament are invited, the press and other residents of the House are allowed to join the dinner. The barbecue could not take place for three years, due to the renovation of the Binnenhof and corona. This time it’s not a barbecue, because the event has to be held indoors, says Oplaat.
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Ghetto blaster
Traditionally, there was also criticism. Ever since the Party for the Animals has been in the Chamber, it has been protesting against the barbecue, sometimes with a ghetto blaster. Is such a lobbying event for the meat processing industry still possible, the party asked again. In addition, this time a senator is organizing a “very flashy lobbying event”. Member of Parliament Eva Akerboom asked parliamentary questions about it and called on ministers not to accept the invitation.
Members of parliament who come to the event are mainly those from the VVD and the BBB. Minister Piet Adema (Agriculture, ChristenUnie) is also there.
“Uncomfortable and strange,” calls Akerboom, who also came to the buffet on Tuesday. After asking parliamentary questions, she was asked whether she should come and watch the event she criticized.
The organization has given the barbecue a new look, but in the end the same thing happens, says Akerboom. “Mainly meat and dairy sector and fishing interests are present there. And one organization of fruit and vegetables.”
There is also criticism for another reason. BBB senator Oplaat is also chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. Doesn’t that, in combination with his lobbying role, create a conflict of interest? Oplaat himself does not see the tension that way. “Eerste Kamerwerk is only one day a week. You have to do things besides that.”
The Code of Conduct for Integrity that the Senate has had since 2019 states that members of the Senate must “abstain from actions and activities that give rise to the appearance of a conflict of interest”. The code of conduct has no sanctions, members call each other to account for their behavior if necessary, says a spokesman for the Senate.
Oplaat says that he alone does not speak in the Senate when it comes to slaughterhouses.
The critics would prefer to have organizer Oplaat inside. Because food connects, he says
The criticism is also expressed in an animal-friendly counterpart to the barbecue, organized by Adrie van Steijn. He is co-founder of One Animal, One Friend. That barbecue has now been moved to the beginning of the political year, in the hope that the message will stick better. This evening they will be outside with a barbecue and grilling a cuddly rabbit.
Oplaat would prefer to have the critics inside, he says. To enjoy the food together. That connects, according to Oplaat.
Akerboom has mainly had tough conversations, she says after her visit. And she inspected the food. She saw duck, she was not happy about that. “It is one of the most suffering animal species in the meat industry.”