The sorry state of the news business can be directly measured by articles about canteen food in Berlins universities.
As with a lot of things Berlin does, this might be about saving money. The UK did that too, they replaced meat with Quorn for the same reason. That is actually quite tasty if spiced up correctly. Sadly not available in Germany anymore, probably due to low demand.
Of course people understandably complained because they were led to believe they were served meat.
There's a huge movement for environmentalism among young people in Berlin. There's a good chance the assertion made is accurate, despite meat not really being a large cause.
The bad industrial factory farm kind, certainly. The wikipedia link certainly presents a horrible picture. It seems that it's how a lot of places where there should not be meat production work, though.
I'm not so sure that how most German meat production is that kind of bad. It's got a lot of pastures, cows naturally graze or eat localy harvested grain feeds, no irrigation for feed b/c there's enough rainwater, etc).
I might be wrong though, as in France there were examples where they cut corners with soy and did it the "US way", which caused several scandals throughout the years.
Anybody with knowledge how the German meat industry actually works ?
Wait, what? "Almost meat-free" meaning "there's always meat on the menu"? At the same prices?
I'm asking because Swiss universities are getting flak for gasp charging more for dishes containing meat (compared to vegetarian dishes) [0] and going completely meat-free [1]
From what I can tell it means far less meals with meat.
When I was studying in Berlin the larger canteens had several different meals to choose from + salad and soups on any given day. Of those about half had meat in them (if my memory serves). I assume they want to reduce this number.
According to welt.de they want to reduce the meat and fish to about 4% of the food offered [1].
It's all about quantities. Here in Germany I see people eating meat 2 to 3 times a day every day of the week. Most of it is cheap low quality processed meat.
Going 100% vegetarian isn't going to solve all problems but reducing meat consumption in general would definitely help.
They always give you the argument "bu-bu-but we evolved to be omnivores" ok buddy, but you didn't evolve to eat 500gr of meat every single day of your life either
The quality of the meat in Berlin's canteens is low. The meals are more expensive and the serving sizes are smaller. Even before this move I saw no reason to eat anything with meat there. BTW: There is already a vegetarian/vegan canteen at the Freie Universität, it's called "Veggie No 1" [1].
In the long run, making meat less appealing to consumers and encouraging more vegetarian recipes is a good way to reduce emissions. A tax on meat wouldn't surprise me.
However, I see this as a clear sign that the next generation will bear the brunt of the environmental sacrifices as we keep indulging in our unsustainable habits.
16 comments
[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 55.5 ms ] threadAs with a lot of things Berlin does, this might be about saving money. The UK did that too, they replaced meat with Quorn for the same reason. That is actually quite tasty if spiced up correctly. Sadly not available in Germany anymore, probably due to low demand.
Of course people understandably complained because they were led to believe they were served meat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_meat_p...
I'm not so sure that how most German meat production is that kind of bad. It's got a lot of pastures, cows naturally graze or eat localy harvested grain feeds, no irrigation for feed b/c there's enough rainwater, etc).
I might be wrong though, as in France there were examples where they cut corners with soy and did it the "US way", which caused several scandals throughout the years.
Anybody with knowledge how the German meat industry actually works ?
I'm asking because Swiss universities are getting flak for gasp charging more for dishes containing meat (compared to vegetarian dishes) [0] and going completely meat-free [1]
[0] https://www.watson.ch/schweiz/z%C3%BCrich/357579907-fleisch-...
[1] https://www.unilu.ch/news/der-zfv-betreibt-neu-die-uniph-men...
When I was studying in Berlin the larger canteens had several different meals to choose from + salad and soups on any given day. Of those about half had meat in them (if my memory serves). I assume they want to reduce this number.
According to welt.de they want to reduce the meat and fish to about 4% of the food offered [1].
[1] https://www.welt.de/vermischtes/article233418943/Klimaschutz...
Going 100% vegetarian isn't going to solve all problems but reducing meat consumption in general would definitely help.
They always give you the argument "bu-bu-but we evolved to be omnivores" ok buddy, but you didn't evolve to eat 500gr of meat every single day of your life either
[1] https://www.stw.berlin/en/dining-facilities/mensa-fu-veggie-...
However, I see this as a clear sign that the next generation will bear the brunt of the environmental sacrifices as we keep indulging in our unsustainable habits.
[1] https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local [2] https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impacts-of-food?cou...