There is little that infuriates German citizens as reliably as a debate about meat consumption.
In 2013 it was the demand for a "veggie day" in German canteens that really spoiled the Greens' election campaign. This year, the alleged currywurst ban at the car manufacturer VW under the hashtag #RettetdieCurrywurst caused a brief sensation.
In both cases, it is difficult to reconcile the potential for arousal in public with the actual content of the discussions: At that time, the eco-party did not demand the abolition of the meat dish in the canteens, only the suggestion of a single meat-free day was under discussion - and banned eight years later VW does not sell the currywurst from the company premises, only one in 20 canteens wants to introduce a meat-free offer.
How is it that even the smallest attempts to reduce the excessive and unhealthy hunger for meat of the Germans reliably provoke a storm of indignation?
After all, even government agencies such as the Federal Environment Agency have long gone much further in their recommendations.
In its Environment Monitor 2020, for example, the authority advocates halving meat consumption.
But for many, it seems, one meal of meat a day is almost a fundamental right.
This is a heavy burden for climate protection.
Because industrial agriculture and, above all, livestock farming are the main drivers of global warming.
Cattle farming in particular has an immense ecological footprint.
On average, more than 12 kilos of CO2 equivalents are produced per kilo of beef - twice as much as with a whole 10 kilos of vegetables.
The good news: Because meat consumption puts a heavy strain on the climate, a moderate change in diet can achieve a correspondingly high level of impact.
And alternatives are there: Meat substitutes made from peas, mushrooms, beans and cereals are booming.
What a few years ago was only served by convicts, is now conquering the mass market.
What are the real benefits of meat alternatives and how do they help in the fight against global warming?
We are discussing this this week in the »Climate Report«, the new weekly SPIEGEL podcast on the climate crisis, which appears every Tuesday, on SPIEGEL.de and wherever there are podcasts.
Guests are Christine Chemnitz, agricultural scientist from the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Jens Tuider from ProVeg
Curious?
Then you will now hear our »Climate Report«.
