According to Bloomberg, Germans
are ditching traditional pork-based dishes for vegan options.
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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