I'll get German children eating meat again, vows butcher minister

Yahoo

30-04-2025

Germany's new agriculture minister, a Bavarian butcher, says he will take on the country's vegetarian movement and put more meat on school menus.
From the Rhineland to the Polish border, schoolchildren have suffered ever more plates of potato salad and cabbage rolls in recent years – with primary schools in Freiburg even banning meat products entirely.
But that is set to change under Alois Rainer's incoming regime, with the master sausage-maker declaring that meat is part of a balanced diet and should be served regularly, 'especially in kindergartens and schools'.
The 60-year-old politician, from the conservative CDU's Bavarian sister party the CSU, has also vowed to block more meat taxes after the outgoing Green agriculture minister called for a levy of 10 cents on every kilogram.
Mr Rainer's government appointment delighted Markus Söder, the CSU leader, who commented: 'Now we'll have Leberkäse (a German meatloaf) again instead of tofu.'
Cem Özdemir, the outgoing Green minister, introduced vegetarian-only days in his ministry's canteen, which reportedly led to hungry bureaucrats going next door to get their fix of traditional meat dishes.
Rejecting Mr Özdemir's proposed tax increases on meat, Mr Rainer told the Bild newspaper: 'Meat prices are not set by the minister, but by the market.
'Farmers are not children who need to be patronised.'
Mr Rainer said he believed that meat prices could even fall under Germany's new government, which will be led by Friedrich Merz.
Eating meat has become a gastronomic rallying cry for Germany's centre-Right, with Mr Söder frequently posting pictures of classic meat dishes such as bratwurst and Wiener schnitzel online.
The 58-year-old party leader has also frequently taunted his Green opponents, such as outgoing vice-chancellor Robert Habeck, who is openly vegetarian.
Despite Germany's meat-loving reputation, around 1 in 10 Germans now eat plant-based meat replacements daily.
The country consumed 4.44 million tons of meat in 2024, an average of 53.2 kg per person, according to the agriculture ministry.
This was up slightly from the previous two years but still much lower than seven years ago, when Germans ate around 61 kg per person.
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