Ikea Fixes What Isn’t Broken, Plans to Create Vegetarian Meatballs

Ikea, the land of lack tables and malm bedframes, is known for their crackalicious meatballs as much as their furniture. However, in an effort to ease their environmental consciences, the Swedish powerhouse announced plans to introduce a vegetarian alternative to their famed meatballs.

I know, you’re thinking there better be a good reason for this or you’re losing your shit. According to Joanna Yarrow, Ikea’s head of sustainability, there is. Green Business reports that Yarrow admitted during the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change event that their regular meat meatballs are the menu’s “most carbon intensive” item. This may stem from the product’s pork and beef content and it’s popularity — customers order 150 million meatballs a year.

“On methane… we are aware of the meat issue with greenhouse gases,” Yarrow explained. “We are looking at all our food products from a sustainability perspective but specifically meatballs. They are very popular and they are also our most carbon-intensive food item on our menu.”

So what does this mean for those perfect globs of horsemeat pork and beef? Ikea’s 2012 sustainability report includes trails for less carbon-intensive chicken meatballs at two of their locations. Green Business also mentions that Ikea is “seeking to adjust the traditional recipe to potentially reduce its carbon footprint.” I swear, if you touch those meatballs…