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German minister: Eating habit survey shows shifting tastes

September 24, 2024

A new government study points to changing tastes in food, but not a desire for rules, according to the agriculture minister. One thing stays constant — a pleasing taste was the most important factor for respondents.

https://p.dw.com/p/4l0eI
Food packaging ready for sale in Germany. Prominently visible on the labels is information about the living conditions of the animals used to make the meat, and about the overall nutritional value of the produce.
The study suggests people pay increased heed to labels on how healthy the food is, and on how livestock were treated on farmsImage: Jürgen Schott/CHORMORANGE/picture alliance

A survey of German eating and food-buying habits shows that consumers are paying increased attention to information like the nutritional score, where the food hails from and the conditions livestock were kept in. 

Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir said in Berlin on Tuesday while presenting the report that it pointed to evolving tastes and preferences, and increased hunger for information, but not to a desire for top-down rules on what should go in their shopping cart. 

"Our citizens decide for themselves how they feed themselves. They don't need lectures or orders from anyone," Özdemir said. 

"That might sound self-explanatory, but we've seen food being instrumentalized politically more and more in recent years," he said. 

Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir holding up a copy of the report 'Germany, as it eats," released by his Food and Agriculture Ministry, at a press conference in Berlin. September 24, 2024.
The report is called 'Germany, as it eats,' which in German is also a pun on the phrase 'Germany, as it is' Image: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture alliance

New labels getting noticed, study says

It's the ninth poll of its kind conducted by Özdemir's ministry. 

Özdemir and the study praised recent efforts to label food more clearly to show things like its nutritional value and how livestock were kept. 

He said the figures showed people paying increased attention to this information, and also that most thought it was necessary to provide such information on packaging.

Of those polled, the largest number, 84% of respondents, said livestock treatment details should be obligatory on packaging. 

What do Germans buy at the supermarket?

Taste still tops list of priorities, but healthy food comes next

When asked what were the most important factors when it came to food, perhaps unsuprisingly 99% said it should taste good. 

The next most common priority, at 91%, was that it be healthy, while 56% of the 1,000 people polled said it should be quick and easy to prepare, and 34% said it should be low in calories. 

How to reconcile this self-reported consumer data with an estimated 46% of Germany's adult population being overweight, and almost 20% being obese, could be an area where the food and agriculture and health ministries need to compare notes. 

A German Rewe supermarket's refrigerated dairy produce aisle, with a shopping cart seen in the center of it.
After fruit and vegetables, dairy items were the next most common foods consumed on a daily basis, according to respondentsImage: Jürgen Schott/CHORMORANGE/picture alliance

Rising numbers of vegetarians and vegans, especially among young

Asked what they eat at least once a day, fruit and vegetables was the most popular response at 71%, followed by dairy products at 62%.

Another 24% conceded to eating sweets or snack junk food daily.  

Only 23% said they ate meat every day, while 10% said they ate vegan or vegetarian meat alternatives daily. Respondents aged 18-29 were more than three times as likely to say this as those over the age of 60.

In that age group, 14% have a vegetarian diet, 6% are vegan, and 37% classify themselves as flexitarian. In all three older age brackets, only 1% were vegan and roughly half as many said they were vegetarian.

The study also pointed to curiosity being more of a motivator than conviction for the increase in consumption of vegetarian and vegan products. 

"Curiosity has become the most commonly named reason for the decision to buy. Of respondents this year who bought vegetarian or vegan alternatives at least once, 69% named this," the report said. 

Vegetarian sausages, falafel balls and schnitzel in bowls on a table. Undated symbolic image.
Özdemir said many people tried vegan or vegetarian alternative products more out of curiosity than ideological convictionImage: Silas Stein/dpa/picture alliance

Livestock treatment a priority for many

Asked what factors influence food purchases, a pleasing taste was again top at 94%. 

But four in five people said they laid value on choosing seasonal fruit and veg, 79% said livestock being treated well was important, and 77% prioritized buying local produce. 

Seven people in 10 said they favored fair trade products, and also that they care about the food being ecologically farmed. 

Only just over half, 55%, said they laid emphasis on it being affordable. 

People were also asked what politicians and big business should prioritize when it comes to food and packaging. 

Improved livestock living standards, reducing food waste in homes and businesses, expanding ecological farming, and obligatory labeling on livestock living standards for all meat and dairy produce all received 85% approval or more. 

The evolution of agriculture in Germany

Eating out still more popular than deliveries

Figures showed cooking remained popular, albeit more so with older age groups than younger ones.

Around 45% said they cooked every day, 37% said two or three times a week, and only 7% said they would usually try to avoid cooking themselves.

Almost three in four respondents, 74%, said they would visit a restaurant or pub at least once a month on average, 23% would use a canteen at least once a month, and 39% said they ordered home delivery at least once every few weeks.

msh/nm (dpa, epd)