Germans Ditching Traditional Meat Dishes for Vegan Versions


Germany has long been Europe’s biggest pig-producing and pork-eating country, but demand has dropped for at least three straight years. According to the Agriculture Market Information Company, last year Germans consumed the smallest amount of pork since 2005, with consumption expected to drop again this year.

The 167-year-old Zum Schluessel beer hall in Dusseldorf’s old town recently adapted its menu to offer vegan “chili con soja. What’s more, a 183-year-old sausage producer now makes veggie schnitzels, hams, and sausages, including a pea-protein Leberwurst, which is traditionally made from pig liver.

Germany is one of the fastest growing places for veganism due in large part to the country’s interest in animal welfare and environmental protection. A 2016 study based on 2008–2011 data estimated that 4.3 percent of Germans between 18 and 79 identified as vegetarian, with the majority between 18 and 29. Compare that to 2 percent in the United Kingdom and 3.3 percent in the United States.

Over the past decade, veganism has seen consistent growth as millennials—the world’s largest generation—purchase their own foods. Concerned about health, the environment, and animal welfare, this generation boasts a greater number of self-identifying vegetarians than any other, explains The New York Times.

German citizens aren’t the only ones making the conscious switch to plant-based foods. The nation’s federal minister for the environment banned meat from official government functions.

Ditching meat, dairy, and eggs is great for our planet and spares countless animals a lifetime of misery at factory farms.

Cows, pigs, and chickens raised and killed for food are just as smart and sensitive as dogs and cats. But at factory farms, they’re subjected to unimaginable cruelties: extreme confinement, brutal mutilations, and violent deaths.

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