Germany’s meat consumption plummets to all time low in 2023 

GERMANY—Germany is witnessing a significant shift in its dietary habits as meat consumption in 2023 dropped to 51.6 kg, marking a downward trend from the previous year by 0.8%. 

According to preliminary data from the Federal Information Centre for Agriculture (BZL), this is the lowest levels since records began in 1991. 

The Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) attributes this decline to changing diets and an increased awareness of the impact of high meat consumption on health, climate, and the environment. 

The decrease had dropped to 52 kg per person in 2022, which was mostly driven by falling pork consumption.  

However, the combined beef and veal products subset experienced the largest percentage decrease in 2023, with per capita consumption declining by nearly 5% to 8.9 kilograms. 

Consumption of pork products also witnessed a decline of 2.1% to 27.6 kilograms per person. 

However, poultry per capita consumption was the only subste to record an increase, with the consumtion hitting a 7.3% rise to 13.1 kgs.  

This has been the case for quite some time now – c hicken products have observed the smallest decline in consumption since 2018 at 2.2%. 

Conversely, beef and veal consumption has dropped by 16.8% in the past five years, while the number of individuals consuming pork has decreased by nearly 20%. 

Meat exports, on the other hand, saw a decline of 13.3% in 2023 to 2.2 million tonnes, which consequently saw meat production take a huge hit.  

Agriculture minister Cem Özdemir commented on this trends, stating that Germans are increasingly prioritizing health, environmental impact, and animal welfare in their dietary choices. 

“Agriculture, trade and politics should jointly orientate themselves towards this reality in order to further develop animal husbandry in Germany in a future-proof manner,” he added.  

He also added that Germany aims to reduce its agricultural emissions, which account for about 7% of total greenhouse gas emissions, to achieve climate neutrality by 2045. 

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