The share of our diet in man-made climate change is no longer a secret and a central research topic of various studies. Equally interesting, however, is how the growing awareness of this problem affects consumer consumption in Germany. The studies regularly commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) are a good indicator. A comparison with previous years shows a clear trend towards a more conscious and increasingly vegan diet. In addition to climate issues, health aspects in particular have a major impact on the changed eating habits of many Germans.
“Nutrition Report” takes a close look at eating habits
Recipes for animal-free dishes like healthy and vegan bowls trends in Google's search statistics. At the same time, both producers and retailers are making changes to their offerings. The increasing abandonment of products with meat, milk and egg is noticeable on the supermarket shelves in many places. This perception is also supported by the results of the latest "Nutrition Report" by the BMEL. The representative survey has been carried out at annual intervals since 2016 by the opinion research institute Forsa. Clear trends and changes in the eating habits of Germans can be identified over the years. 1,000 citizens aged 14 and over took part. Not surprisingly, taste comes first for most in the latest survey. Interestingly, climate and environmental protection are also very important to many. Around 50 percent of those surveyed stated that they expected their food to be produced in an environmentally friendly manner. For almost as many, it is also important that emissions that are harmful to the environment and health are reduced as far as possible during production. The study participants also attach great importance to these points with regard to the information on the food packaging. In addition, reliable information about the husbandry conditions for animal products is important for 89 percent of the study participants. A growing number of consumers see the solution to many problems, such as climate change, in fundamentally avoiding meat and other animal products.
Rethinking among consumers and industry
Of course, this development did not go unnoticed by the food industry. On the contrary: climate and environmental protection are recognized as central issues of our time, which must be reflected in the respective offer. The contribution of the food industry to animal, environmentally and climate-friendly nutrition is therefore extremely relevant. Christoph Minhoff, Managing Director of the German Food Association, also confirms this: "Anyone who optimizes their manufacturing processes in terms of CO₂ emissions can save money and protect the climate." With this objective, the association has launched its own industry-wide campaign to reduce CO₂ emissions called to life. This project is also supported by the BMEL, which wants to promote plant-based nutrition on both the supplier and consumer side. Since factory farming is responsible for almost 15 percent of global CO₂ emissions, experts see the reduction in meat consumption as an important contribution to decarbonization.
Packaging information is becoming more important
While consumers in the supermarket used to primarily look at the classic nutritional information on a product, today the focus is on animal welfare, origin and production conditions. It is also revealing which labels and markings people pay attention to when shopping. Consumers look most closely at the regional window with a share of 64 percent. For almost as many, the animal welfare label is in the foreground. When it comes to fish and seafood, however, the trend does not seem to have fully caught on. Only 55 percent of all respondents pay attention to the seal for sustainable fishing. An even smaller proportion looks at the Fairtrade logo. Here it is only 53 percent of all study participants. In the meantime, most people notice the information on the Nutriscore. However, it is only used by less than a third of all Germans to compare different products.
Medical aspects of vegan nutrition
Although the Nutriscore has so far not met with much approval, most consumers state that they give a lot of space to health aspects when it comes to nutrition. In this context, researchers repeatedly confirm the medical advantages of a vegan diet. One European Congress on Obesity study found out that avoiding animal products helps to reduce obesity and at the same time has a positive effect on blood sugar levels. These results came from the evaluation of a broad random sample from different experiments. While some of the subjects retained their usual omnivorous diet, the other test group ate exclusively plant-based food. Avoiding animal foods could therefore turn out to be an effective means of fighting diabetes and vascular diseases.
Inflation is also having an impact
Of course, not only good intentions and a newly discovered environmental awareness decide what ends up in the shopping trolley. Many feel compelled to save in all areas due to inflation. This becomes particularly clear when sales of organic products are compared between years. From 2021 to 2022, a drop in sales of almost one billion euros can be observed. In various other consumer surveys, too, more and more consumers are stating that their diet is based on which products are available at the time of purchase. The fact that, according to the nutrition report, a proud 96 percent of all Germans check their food after the best-before date before throwing it away could also be due to a budget that has shrunk due to inflation.
03/13/2023