Anti-Meat Chatter

Last night, one of the top German public TV chat-forums occurred on ARD, with the 9 PM show....Hart Aber Fair (Hard But Fair). The topic?  Well....it was a long-winded piece on the guilt you should feel eating meat.

Yes, meat eaters versus vegetarians. Around three years ago, surveys indicated that Germany had the highest number of vegans (1-percent of the population), and vegetarians (10-percent of the population)....of any country in the western world.  Some people even say that roughly half the population (82-million total residents) practice limited meat consumption (often called flexitarians).

So there is continual peer and public pressure put upon the authorities, schools, and the general public. 

New government regulations have gone into place which require more square footage for stock animals (pigs, chickens, cows, etc).  Most farmers say that their profit margins are being 'shaved' to some degree, and it makes it more difficult to run a normal farm.  If you went down to future analysis....it'd be a safe bet to say that less pig and chicken operations will exist in Germany over the next decade, with more import required in order to satisfy grocery requirements. 

The show last night?  I caught around 35 minutes of it, and I'll just suggest that it was a strong guilt-trip put upon the poor pro-meat members of the panel. 

My general view of German society is that a fair number of individuals have cut back on meat consumption.  These folks aren't going to become vegans or vegetarians, but they will consume half of the meat that they did a decade ago.  A long-term trend?  Yes, and I don't see this changing.

If you run a government building cafeteria contract....such as you might notice at a courthouse, public hospital or university, then you have to offer up not only a decent salad bar, but you have to offer a major dish plate, which is not a meat-product. 

Just trying to have a dinner for German co-workers, or associates....you now have to figure that at least one out of the ten people you've invited....will require a special dish which is non-meat-related. 

So where does this all lead onto?  Being preached to, and continually told of ill-effects of meat-consumption, or the poor treatment of chickens or pigs.  I would imagine that ten-percent of population is now growing weary and tired or the vegan/vegetarian chatter, and the anti-meat talk.