Three years ago, after an 8-month stay in Germany, I made the decision to stop eating meat (red meat, chicken and fish), triggering all kinds of backlash and mockery from my friends and family, as if desecrated all what they hold dear. I stayed in Egypt for one year as a vegetarian, and then moved to Germany, where I’ve been living for 1.5 years now. I can go through the reasons behind my vegetarianism elsewhere, but having lived in both countries as a vegetarian made me realize the stark difference in people’s relationship to food, leading me to revamp my philosophy about my diet, reconsider the centrality of meat in my meals and of course realize how our food choices are inherently political. Germany is famous for its ambitious sustainable development targets, aspiring to slash carbon dioxide emissions and maximizing renewable energy sources integration. This top-down decision is not just reflected in its governmental policies, and the ubiquity of electrical cars and bikes, but also in the food choices that are sustainable and ethical. The global livestock industry is responsible for greenhouse gases that surpass those of planes, trains and…
