Vegetarian News - Reports from Germany

Reports from Germany

from EVU News Issues 3+4, 1995

[image: cow]

New Information Material Postcards from the "VEGETARISCHE INITIATIVE"

(in German)

If you are interested in information material and "vegetarian postcards" from a vegetarian group in northern Germany you can write or fax to us and we will send you material offer. The address is:
VEGETARISCHE INITIATIVE, Curtiusweg 23, D-20535 Hamburg,
Tel. & Fax: 04131/83199.

Inquiries show: scepticism against meat-eating in Germany is spreading

At the end of the last year, two big German magazines, "Focus" and "Wochenpost" made inquiries about the importance of eating meat in Germany. Both inquiries are showing very significantly that meat eating is less important for great parts of the population.

Only 34% of the questioned people said that they eat meat "one or more times a day", 46%, nearly half, said "2-3 times a week only" and 18% "even less".

36% said that they ate more meat ten years ago then today. But there are also an obstinate 45%, which are eating the same quantity of meat as ten years ago, and only 14% are eating less meat ten years ago then today.

The number of vegetarians is 2% ("Wochenpost") and 3% ("Focus"). So there is a very great number of people who are thinking about their eating of meat and start to eat less, and there is still a certain number of people who are becoming vegetarians.

The absolute number of vegetarians must be around 2-3 million people.

These inquiries show: There are a lot of people who are thinking differently about meat now. Meat is not anymore so important for every meal or every day. The discussion about animal transports, mad cow desease, the new information about the health condition of vegetarians is starting to have their effect. I think it is a very good situation for our information and campaign work. We have to offer to the important numbers of "meat-sceptic" people the vegetarian nutrition as an attractive, healthy and very easy alternative.

The positive development you can see also in the official statistic: The eating of meat has gone down from 69,7 kg in 1988 to 60,5 kg a person in 1994, that is a regress of more than 10% in only 6 years!

It is the first time since the middle of the last century (only interrupted during the time of the two world wars), that meat consumption is going down in Germany.

A last number for the perspectives: In a German newspaper in August was reported the information that 37% (!) of young people in the USA between the ages of 10 and 20 are no more eating meat!

I think we have to use this situation for our work and I am optimistic that the meat consumption will go down even more in the next years.

Thomas Schönenberger, VEGETARISCHE INITIATIVE, Germany