More and more people are looking for alternatives to an animal-based diet. What initially appeared to be a lifestyle trend for a small minority has established itself in German society as a diet to be taken seriously. Vegetarianism and veganism are on the rise.
In fact, around 10% of all Germans eat a plant-based diet, making Germany the country with the highest proportion of plant-based eaters in Europe. This is according to a recent survey conducted by the Smart Protein Project. Smart Protein is an EU-funded project run by the University of Copenhagen and the University of Ghent. Its aim is to develop foods that are affordable, resource-efficient and nutritious.
To this end, the project is investigating the dietary preferences of European citizens. To this end, a total of 7,578 respondents from ten different EU countries were asked about their attitudes towards plant-based foods.
The results are clear: a growing number of Europeans are considering alternatives to animal products. 30% of participants in the survey describe themselves as flexitarians, i.e. meat eaters who are trying to strike a balance and rely more on plant-based foods. The Netherlands and Romania lead the EU with the highest percentage of flexitarians – 42% and 40% respectively. In Germany, this percentage is significantly lower at 30%.
Leading vegetarians and vegans
On the other hand, Germany is the leading vegetarian country. Not only that: together with the Italians and Danes, German omnivores are also increasingly preferring plant-based meat substitutes to meat. According to the survey, 51% of them have reduced their meat consumption in the past year.
Nevertheless, there is still a great deal of scope for both plant-based eaters and plant-based diets. German consumers particularly want plant-based cream cheese (32%), semi-hard cheese (32%) and mozzarella (31%).
As far as animal-based food is concerned, Germany is following the European trend, albeit to a lesser extent. German consumers most frequently consumed milk (35% daily), followed by cheese (24% daily), yogurt (21% daily) and poultry (46% at least once a week).
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Adapted from an article by Anton Dechand for Secret Berlin.