Germany Declares Veganism Unhealthy, Lacking Nutrition

The German Nutrition Society has taken a strong stand against vegans, claiming a vegan diet does not provide the body with the proper nutrition it needs to be healthy. Protein, B12, calcium, iron, and zinc are among the vitamins and nutrients that vegans supposedly cannot get.

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[JustSurvivetoThrive]

My protein levels actually went up after being vegan for a year! I don't know who was more shocked me or my doctor!

[isiamun]

I'm from Germany. And this is a popular opinion (mostly of so called experts (everyone feels like an expert over here)). My idea: Germany has too many dairy and meat farms (subsidised by the government) and due to the rising number of vegans and vegetarians, the low earnings (1l of milk for under 20 cents for the farmers) AND the embargo (?) of Russia could lead to overproduced and cheap meat, eggs and dairy products. Back in the days, meat was very expensive so middle class families couldn't afford meat or only got to eat meat on a holiday. Today cheap meat from no name brands is cheaper than most vegetables. Back to the topic: When my sister and I went vegetarian a couple of years ago it was okay for the family, even though my grandma grumbled a bit (because of iron deficiency). But when we went vegan a year ago, everyone became an expert and told us to go back to the vegetarian diet. For her last birthday my sister got a letter from my other grandma, she copied a entry of a popular magazine about veganism and the "expert" told the magazine that only vegans had to supply B12. I don't know what is up with these "experts", smells like corruption by the government and/or meat, dairy, beef, eggs companies.
I don't know much about the DGA tbh. But yeah. As I mentioned earlier I call on closed minded and/or corrupted.
I'm vegan, I'm from a small town (10, 000 citizens), we don't have many options when we go to a restaurant (except Pizza without cheese), but in the cities nearby are a decent amount of vegan options.

[benfaust]

Traditional German cuisine is high in animal products. Tradition tends to trump science, you know.

[KCWSPN]

I am a vegan german and I feel really offended by the comments postet here...
Berlin for instance, where I am living, has so many vegans, vegan restaurants, vegan stores etc! We have a huge vegan movement going on here and everyone acts like all the people in germany are against veganism, fat and unhealthy. wtf guys. Veganism get a lot of positive advertising here, so calm your tits.

[srllr]

The meat, dairy and egg lobby is very strong in Germany. In one state we had a minister declare chicken shredding illegal and this was reversed by a high court because they considered it "economically unbearable" for a company to not shred the chickens. Outrageous, but that's how the world we live in works :(
But in the end it's still pretty easy to go vegan here as we have decently priced produce available and vegetarian/vegan substitutes in basically every supermarket (and I live in a rural area).

[tessaalex]

I've lived in Germany for the past 2 years and even though it isn't as bad as it is in the United States, obesity is growing here just like it is in a lot of places around the world. The standard German diet is not the epitome of health, that's for sure.

[lalilu-hpch]

You have to know that Germany is one of the biggest meat producers in the world, often called the slaughterhouse of Europe. it's at a point where there is way more meat production than people actually eat and most of it is exported very cheap. Last year 1/5 of meat production was actually thrown away. There are actually plans to half the meat consumption by 2050 here, idk how this is going to happen. Meat and animal products are part of almost every traditional German meal. Even vegetables are most times covered in butter or cream, many people follow a "white" diet. However, I see changes. We have a pretty big vegan supermarket chain now and more and more organic supermarkets coming up. More people are getting into fitness and healthy diet which I hope will eventually lead to a vegan one :)

[jeenjeanjeen]

It's interesting to see different countries respond differently to their country's increasing health crisis. China told their ppl to eat less meat.

[justdolf]

Nothing we haven't heard before. Amazing how the same arguments are still valid with so many vegans thriving and experiencing amazing health benefits.

[Bla]

Germany is maybe the vegan friendliest country in Europe! The movement is sooo big there!!

[lmartinmiami]

I am living in Germany, last week was a big vegan event, one of many. the Vegan movement is growing and nobody can stop that.

[ANJINSAMMA]

The whole protein myth is getting tiring now- even medical practitioners fail at this too.

[MrRostit]

Veganism and Vegetarianism has taken a big hold in Germany and i guess companies are getting worried that more and more people are going vegan, or decreasing their meat comsumption.

I don't like how you treat fortified foods as a means of getting your nutrients, it makes it sound like its not possible on a whole foods vegan diet.

[malevich]

Germany is one of the best countries in Europe to be vegan. This is probably why there is backlash

[aerialamethyst]

Thats so sad. I am german, living in Florida and honestly last time I visited germany in dec 2015 I got the impression that veganism is getting really popular and accepted over there, more than in Florida... They have exclusively vegan stores over there called Vegans, and you can find a great affordable variety of vegan products in regular and discount grocery stores, incl vegan make up. You also meet a lot of people who are vegan.But here in Florida I had to go to 3 different grocery stores to find plain vegan yoghurt - couldn't find it and whole foods is to far and to expensive. Had to settle for vanilla flavour - for a salad dressing. My point is that beside that study Germany seems to be a very vegan friendly country!

[Mojichan]

And yet Berlin is one of the vegan friendliest city in Europe.

[benediktk.]

I'm neither proud to be a german nor to be a human....

[davidsgardell]

That is SO true about people worrying about vegans not getting this or not getting that - but obese people, junk food eaters etc are off the hook! Regarding vegans it's bc there is a HUGE difference between theory and practice. I've been a healthy vegan for 13 yrs now, I look younger than people my age I look healthier... What ARE these "supplements" I need?! I seriously want to know lol

[walterbyrd]

As I understand it, veganism is relatively popular in Germany. I wonder if German meat industry has any influence?

[sidilicious]

The vegan revolution is growing no matter what, one delicious and nutritious and plantbased bite at a time.