Germany is a good performer under the VACI due to its strong animal protection laws and relatively low level of animal production.
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Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.
Albert Einstein
Germany is a good performer under the VACI due to its strong animal protection laws and relatively low level of animal production.
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Germany slaughters around 10.1 land-based animals per person / year, which is comparable to the global average of 9.7. The country’s dependency on farm animals is relatively low, with around 2.2 farm animals per person (compared with a global average of around 4). Germany is a major producer of pig meat in the EU, but produces a relatively small share of poultry products. While factory farming is widespread, non-enriched cages are unlawful and the use of sow stalls is restricted (in line with other EC countries).
The German diet contains a high proportion of animal products, with around 58.8% of the average person’s diet being made up of land-based animal protein (compared with a global average of 35.2%). This equates to each person consuming around 57.2g of land-based animal protein per day (compared with a global average of 26.7g). This is higher than in Austria, Spain, the United Kingdom and Italy. As at 2011, it was estimated that 8-9% of Germans identified as vegetarian, the highest in Europe.
Germany was given a “B” under the Animal Protection Index (API), and is also a good performer under the Sanctioning Cruelty category. This is largely due to its comprehensive animal protection legislative framework, which is broadly in line with international best practice. Learn more about the quality of Germany’s legislative protections on the API here.