Vegetarian and vegan diets are still a marginal phenomenon in Germany, but the conscious renunciation of meat is on the rise. Only the choice of meat substitutes left a lot to be desired.
Inhalt / Content
Vegan in the context of climate protection
“Meat is out and vegan is in”, according to a thesis of the “woke” mainstream, which is still flat compared to other topics. Not eating meat is “climate-friendly”, according to one of the greenings that actually needs explanation. Another thesis is the “healthier diet “, if one gave up meat. While the protection of the climate through less animal husbandry can be relegated directly to the realm of fairy tales, the argument about better nutrition has to be looked at more closely.
Vegan on the up
At least the vegan diet is on the up in Germany. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported a 6.5 percent increase in the production of so-called meat substitute products for 2022 compared to the previous year. Compared to 2019, the production volume in 2022 was even 72.7 percent higher. The amount of meat substitutes produced in Germany in 2022 was 104,300 tons. A year earlier the amount was 97,900 tons.
The Federal Statistical Office writes about a “value” of 537.4 million euros in 2022, but ultimately it is only a demanded and paid price. In 2021, this price was 458.2 million euros. In 2021 there were 44 companies in Germany specializing in the production of meat substitutes. At the end of 2022 there were 51 companies.
If you compare the production of meat substitutes and meat production, then the volume of the so-called vegan alternative is still relatively small. In 2022, the numerous companies produced meat and meat products in the range of 42.4 billion euros. Meat production was thus 80 times higher than the production of meat substitutes. In 2019, the difference was still 150 times.
With the increase in consumption of meat substitutes in recent years, meat consumption in Germany has also fallen. In 2022, per capita meat consumption was 52.0 kilograms. In 2012, every German citizen consumed an average of 60.9 kilograms of meat. In 2022, the lowest meat consumption was measured since this data series was collected in 1989.
For comparison: In the USA, per capita meat consumption is just over 115kg. In Australia even at about 121kg.
Meat substitute is not fruit & veg
Basically, there is nothing wrong with not eating meat. Contrary to the numerous prophecies of doom, a balanced diet with purely plant-based products is definitely possible. The emphasis here is on “balanced”, because just porridge every day cannot meet this criterion. For a healthy vegan diet, the entire range of vegetables, fruit, grains and nuts can certainly meet the requirements of the human body.
The “little catch” in the “veggie campaigns”, which are almost reminiscent of propaganda, is the focus on precisely these meat substitutes. It looks like a sausage, but there’s no meat inside. The hamburger also looks delicious, but it has tofu in it instead of ground pork. These meat substitutes are not a healthy diet and cannot meet these requirements. The more “copied”, the more chemistry is packed in there. But when it comes to the attacks on meat consumption, it is precisely these products that are spoken of and hardly anything about vegetables, fruit, cereals and nuts.
When it comes to “vegan”, the following also applies: the more natural and fresh, the better. However, the ubiquitous hybrid wheat is not one of them. Meat substitute products are not only extremely expensive, but can also be thrown into the bin immediately after purchase (a waste of money). These industrially produced meat substitutes are not food, but only body fillers.
