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Test of the Stiftung Warentest Veggie Sausage protects the climate
"The VEBU is pleased that Stiftung Warentest is dedicating its current issue to the increasingly important meat and sausage alternatives. After all, ten percent of Germans now live in Germany, just under one million live vegan and more than half of the population are so-called flexitarians. The results are - as with any test - partly pleasing, sometimes less enjoyable. We are convinced that this is an incentive for food producers to further expand the range of vegetarian and vegan alternatives and to constantly improve their quality. From our perspective, it would be desirable to include the environmental and climatic aspects in the assessment of the products in future tests, "says Sebastian Joy, Managing Director of the VEBU (Vegetarian Federation Germany). Vegetarian and vegan schnitzel, meatball and bratwurst alternatives were tested.
Vegetarian sausage is good for the climate. Image: Lucky Dragon - fotolia Test neglects climate-relevant aspects
"We find the manufacturers to show the potential for improvement for their products is good. It is not good to ignore the many advantages of these products in the assessment. To one-sided judgment falls short in our view. It does not sufficiently take into account the catastrophic consequences for the climate, the environment and animals when consuming similar products from dead animals, if they were put in direct comparison. In addition to the health, taste and sensory evaluation criteria applied by Stiftung Warentest, other aspects should also play a role in the overall assessment, "Joy says.
Resource consumption for the production of food in comparison
The production of one kilogram of beef can consume up to 15,500 liters of water. That's as much as a person living in Germany needs on average in one year when showering. The production of vegetable meat and sausage alternatives requires much less water. The competition between 'trough and plate' will be held at the expense of many people in poorer regions. Animal and feed production favors the unjust distribution of food and thus exacerbates world hunger. The vast majority of 'farm animals' are fed with large amounts of concentrated feed from cereals and oil crops such as soy and rapeseed. Only 43 percent of the world's grain harvest serves directly as food. In the EU it is even only a quarter. In many cases, wheat and other crops could be used directly for human nutrition, including the production of plant-based meat and sausage alternatives.
Greenhouse gas pollution through animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the main cause of climate-related emissions in the agricultural sector. Globally, according to FAO, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, it accounts for 14.5 percent of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Animal husbandry emits more than the entire transport sector. A study commissioned by the VEBU and Greenpeace Austria proves that the greenhouse gases emitted by meat consumption are reduced by 95 percent if meat alternatives are used instead. "The handle to veggie meat is therefore in any case the better choice," said Joy.
nutrition recommendation
Any form of nutrition should be balanced and varied. For vegetarian and vegan living people as well as for flexitarians meat-free and purely herbal products such as meat and sausage alternatives offer a good variety on the menu, but should consist mainly of fruits and vegetables and legumes and wholemeal cereal products. Low-processed foods are always healthier than those that have been heavily processed. Soy sausages, seitan schnitzel and Tempehburger offer a variety on the plate that welcomes the VEBU. "Companies are called upon to produce products that are as natural as possible, that offer good taste and are healthy," Joy recommends.
Veggie offer is growing
Consumers are becoming increasingly critical and well informed. They demand healthy alternatives. In Germany currently live about eight million vegetarians, that is 10 percent of the population, and rising. Of these, around 900,000 people live vegan. A representative survey also found that 42 million part-time vegetarians and flexitarians live in Germany, i. they do not eat meat on three or more days a week. These figures are of considerable importance to the German economy. This reacts and offers an ever-expanding range of vegetable and vegetarian alternatives. The vegan variety of products will increase in the coming years. According to a market analysis by the Cologne Institute for Trade Research (IFH), sales of 454 million euros in vegetarian and vegan products were generated in 2015.
Give manufacturers opportunities to develop their products
"The products are still very new in the market, compared to the period since sausage and meat from ingredients of dead animals exist. The manufacturers are therefore in a constant process of adapting the products to the requirements of the consumers, developing and improving them. The variety of raw materials that make up the sausage and meat alternatives will increase over the next few years. Products made from pea protein, lupine-based or from domestic soybeans are increasingly being produced. The possibilities that are available to product developers today are manifold.