Vegan In Germany

[Kuklasmom]

Hi! I'm from Chicago. I've never been to Germany, but I do know of a German vegan Web site. (They have an English and French forum, too.)

Here's the address:

http://www.vegan.de

For those of use who are learning a foreign language, it's essential to practice. And it's especially fun when you can share common interests.

Enjoy!

Best regards,
Kukla's Mom

[Kuklasmom]

Thank you for your message, Michael! :)

Your list is very helpful for any vegan who plans to visit Berlin (eine schoene Stadt!).

In my opinion, we vegans should communicate internationally. Such communication supplies useful information and offers encouragement.

It's always good to know that we're not alone in the world following a vegan diet!

If you ever visit Chicago, please try one of my favorite vegan and vegetarian restaurants: the Chicago Diner. They have a Web site; here's the link:

The Chicago Diner (http://www.veggiediner.com)

Schoener Tag! Bis bald!

(Ach, mein Deutsch ist schrecklich! Ich bin nur eine Anfaengerin, und ich mache noch viele Fehler! Entschuldigung, bitte? :))

Best regards,
Kukla's mom

[mysh]

(Ach, mein Deutsch ist schrecklich! Ich bin nur eine Anfaengerin, und ich mache noch viele Fehler! Entschuldigung, bitte? :))


Actually, your German is quite outstanding, especially for a beginner! :)

[Kuklasmom]

Ach, vielen Dank! :D

Best regards,
Kukla's Mom

[paradoxsund]

Guten Tag meine Damen und Herren!!! Ich hab' diese Gruppe heute gefunden, und ich interessiere mich, wie Ihr deutsches Essen finden. Wann ich nach Deutschland geflogen bin (zweimal für sechs Wochen), fand ich es schwer, um Veganerin (richtiges Wort) zu sein. Ich bin ins ,,Reformhaus" einkaufen gegangen...wie findet Ihr veganerisches Essen? Ist das schwer zu finden? Entschuldigung, mein Deutsch hat vielleicht viele Fehler, aber ich bin Deutschstudenten und hoere gern ihre Gedanken!

[Tanja]

Hallo paradoxsund,
da Du auf deutsch schreibst, antworte ich Dir auch so. :-) Ich höre immer wieder anderen Veganern, daß es in Deutschland sehr schwer sei, vegan zu leben; daß es in anderen Ländern viele vegane Restaurants, vegane Produkte in den Supermärkten etc. gebe. Wir in Deutschland kennen nicht diesen Komfort, in jedem Supermarkt vegane Würstchen oder ähnliches kaufen zu können. Wir haben auch fast keine veganen Fertiggerichte, das Vegan-Label ist hier noch so gut wie unbekannt. Aber wir leben trotzdem sehr gut. :-) Ich kaufe fast all mein Essen im Supermarkt ein: Obst, Gemüse, Getreide... und nur wneige Sachen im Reformhaus oder Naturkostladen. Falls Du interessiert bist, wie deutsche Veganer kochen ;-), kannst Du Dir ja mal http://tierrechtskochbuch.de ansehen (leider nur auf deutsch), da gibt es sehr viele Rezepte. Solltest Du noch Fragen haben, nur zu. :-)

Viele Grüße,
Tanja

[tails4wagging]

Hello, Germany!. How many vegans are there over in germany, is they a growing band of you there?? :)

[Tanja]

Hi tails4wagging,
I really don't know how many vegans there are in Germany; but I'm afraid not so many as in GB or the USA. Even in larger cities you can't go into a restaurant and have your coffee or tea with soymilk - and I think, this is because nobody asks for ist. But I'm convinced the number of vegans is growing larger, lots of of the bigger supermarkets sell soymilk and tofu now, a few years ago vegans hat to go to the "reformhaus" (health food store?) to get things like that.
It is hard work because most of the german ar activists spend their time in campiagns against fur, vivisection or hunting (I don't want to say, this is bad, but I think, these cannot be the only things we fight for if we want animals to be free), only a few of them work on veganism and animal liberation, e.g. with information about the suffering of "farm animals". So people don't get much information about ar and veganism, and the number of vegans grows very, very slowly...

[tails4wagging]

I would imagine AR activists vegan over there. We in the UK have The Vegan Society have you got one over there?. It is a great resource and networking society.
I think globally, veganism is becoming more recognisable as an alternative lifestyle.

[Tanja]

Sorry, the first sentence didn't make any sense to me. ;-)
We do not have a Vegan Society over here in Germany, just something like a "Vegetarian Society". The vegan network isn't so good as well - I think, we in Germany are at a point where GB stood 10 years ago.
So that's why ar activism is hard work. ;-)

You can find some photos and information about what I do on http://maqi.de/english.html .

[buddadragon]

My gal is from Germany. Travis my son who is currently in Iraq will return to Germany in May..Vilsik..probably spelled wrong. Im trying to learn German. We hope to visit this summer.

[indianvegan]

Dear Tanja,

You will be happy to hear that one of German vegan is right now visiting India and you will be more glad to note that he is with me right now and he also lives close to Frankfurt.He will reach Germany by the end of June 2005.
He has recently joined Vegan club. :)

Cheer up now !!

Manish

[mysh]

I just spent three weeks on holiday in Germany (which is where I am from). I stayed with my mother in Freiburg, and I actually had no problems at all. The Reformhaus was the best place to look for special vegan foods, for example, they have lots of (generally yeast based) bread spreads that are completely vegan, but taste like different kinds of leberwurst (liverwurst). I brought a whole bunch of them back with me - they are soooo delicious!

Also the bread you get at the baker's or at stores with their own bakery are almost all vegan, and quite fantastic. You simply cannot find good fresh bread in American grocery stores, and all of the big brands of bagged, sliced, non-fresh bread are non-vegan here, whereas in Germany it is almost impossible to find bad bread, as long as you stick to the fresh baked kind. With some specialty breads you have to watch out for honey, and some bakeries are now doing horrible things like fish-fat in certain "super healthy" (???) breads.

Most grocery stores also carry soy milk nowadays (although what they have isn't quite as good as Silk, for example). Besides the Reformhaus, there might also be a Bio Markt, or some other organic store that would carry vegan fare. (incidentally, organic things are called "Bio" in Germany, short for "aus biologischem Anbau"). I found a whole collection of soy-based things from a company called Taifun (http://www.taifun-tofu.de/). Their plain tofu is firmer than any I've found in the US, and they have some very good flavoured tofus. They also make an incredible tofu terrine, and mind blowing bratwurst.

Restaurants are a little more difficult - most pastas are egg noodles, and soups frequently contain meat even when no sane person would expect it. For example, I had a rather traumatic experience when I ordered a tomato soup, which not only had an enormous dollop of cream on the top, but also, to my absolute horror and disgust, contained bacon pieces that I only discovered on my second bite. :mad:
All in all, in restaurants I found my best options were plain salad (making sure they contain no cheese, meat, joghurt-based dressings, mayonnaise, etc.), or a vegetable pizza with no cheese on top (although that one always paled in comparison to the ones my wife and I make at home).
Be warned, though, that when an item in the menu says "vegetarian" ("vegetarisch"), it means ovo-lacto veg, and veganism does seem to be rather unknown (although people in the Bio Markt or Reformhaus will probably know what it means).


Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to get excellent vegan food. As long as you are able to cook for yourself, and don't have to rely on restaurants, it's a snap. And it's not like restaurant chains in the US are really any better. And it's way better in Germany than in France, where the words "soupe" and "salade" (or "crudités") mean that it contains meat in one form or another (not the dictionary definition, but the de-facto restaurant implementation).

[Korn]

The Reformhaus was the best place to look for special vegan foods, for example, they have lots of (generally yeast based) bread spreads that are completely vegan, but taste like different kinds of leberwurst (liverwurst). Tartex?

[Vegantastic]

In my opinion, we vegans should communicate internationally.


We need a vegan language!! :D

Until 5 years ago I went almost every year to germany on holiday. I understand german, but don't ask me to write or talk german, because I am not so good in that :) My grade for german on high school was also not so good :D I was better in French and that I can't even understand :)

Ich spreche keine deutsch :)

[mysh]

Tartex?

Yes, amongst others.
Tartex are actually based in Freiburg, which is where my mother lives, and where I stayed for a week while in Germany.

[Miriam]

:confused:
Does anybody know of a vegan food mail order or online shopping coming in
germay? My family are due to move there early next year and I'm worried about getting the meat and dairy alternatives that the children are used to.
Hope someone can help:)

[applepie]

Hi Miriam,

I am actually German, and when I go to Germany I take advantage of bulk-buying some stuff I have difficulty finding in Britain like yeast flakes or soya coffee creamer. Very good online shops are:
www.so-ja.de
www.smilefood.de
If you have any specific questions I might be able to answer - fire away! :)

[harpy]

I wouldn't worry, Miriam - I used to know some German vegans and even though the place they lived in was pretty small they seemed to have a better choice of vegan products than we do here in London! Some of the products I buy here (Tai-fun?) are actually German imports.

[Miriam]

Thank you both for your replies. I feel happier about getting vegan food in germany now. :) My 2 older children are very happy to hear about taif-un because they like their sausages.
I also contacted the Veganstore website and found that they will deliver (at a price, so I'll be placing bulk orders, I think).
Thanks, once again,
Miriam

[applepie]

Miriam, don't order from the Veganstore - order within Germany and save yourself a lot of money.
Try www.so-ja.de or www.smilefood.de - they are both good and very helpful.

[Miriam]

Thanks again. I have had a quick look, but as my German is apalling:o , I was looking for an 'english speaking' site. I guess I'll have to work harder on my language skills!
Miriam

[Wishin986]

When I went to Jena this summer - I found that in their local supermarket there was no peanut butter and my host dad didnt even know what I meant! Is that true of most places in Germany - no pb?!

[applepie]

Wishin, it's not as common in the UK or the US. Not many people will have had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in Germany! I can't say I have been looking for pb in Germany as I don't like it particularly, but thinking about it I have never consciously noticed any on the shelves. I'm off to Germany in a week's time, I'll have a look around for you!

[harpy]

Peanut butter doesn't seem to be that common in Europe, apart from the UK and possibly the Netherlands. In France, for example, I think you may be able to get it in the odd health food shop, but not usually in supermarkets (though this information may be out of date as it's a while since I looked).