With her brown hair neatly tied back, wearing a friendly smile and the red and white tunic with the lettering Konnopke’s Imbiss on the chest, the 23 year old girl welcomes every customer waiting in line to taste a currywurst. Located in the hotspot Prenzlauer Berg, the family business mirrors the image of Berlin. Underneath the U-Bahn station Eberswalder Straße it smells of grilled sausage and the guests standing by the round tables seem to be enjoying every bite of Berlin’s traditional food.
Linda cuts the sausage into small pieces, puts it on a small paper plate, covers it with the tomato sauce which follows the family recipe and tops it off with a piece of bread: “The vegan currywurst, please?!”. A young woman picks up the order and carries the plate to one of the tables where her colleagues are already enjoying their lunch. Each and every one of the young group chose the vegan product.
What has been the eco movement back in the days, is now veganism. It is not only a trend, but also a lifestyle mostly young people in big cities have chosen for themselves. It is not something they follow because it’s hip, but because they feel good eating vegan. The number of vegans, or vegetarians for that matter, is rising constantly.
According to the German vegan association VEBU, in Germany 7.8 Million people are vegetarians and about one Million live a vegan lifestyle. It is estimated that every day another 200 people choose the vegan way and 2000 become vegetarian. Therefore, vegan restaurants, cafés and food products in general are gaining more ground. Because of these developments, there are now festivals and events dedicated to representing this lifestyle. The Vegan Summer Festival in Berlin for example, attracted around 60,000 visitors. Not only vegetarians and vegans but also people who are curious about the new lifestyle can sneak a peek.
Especially in rather alternative and young neighbourhoods like Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain, Mitte and Neukölln vegan places are omnipresent, so that also meat and seafood lovers take up the offer. The wide range of vegan food makes it easy and accessible for everyone. Vegan restaurants and cafés such as Vaust, Viasko & Vöner belong in the city just as Konnopke’s Imbiss and Mustafa’s Döner.
The U.S. Food Magazine Saveur called Berlin “The New Vegetarian Capital”, and shops like The Vegetarian Butcher in Kreuzberg prove that Berlin deserves that title. Yes, the new generation is used to vegan “Schnitzel” or even the vegan “Burger”, but the worldwide first vegan butcher Jaap Korteweg goes one step further- some would say too far- selling chicken strips, beef and meatballs, but everything is vegan. Korteweg grew up as a farmer in the Netherlands, but when the swine flu and the mad cow disease reached his country, he decided to become vegetarian. “I missed the taste and structure of meat a lot and had to think of something that would replace meat perfectly.” With the help of top chefs, he created the perfect illusion to convince meat lovers they don’t have to give up the taste of meat altogether.
The butchery at the Bergmannkiez is well-patronized. Mainly young families and apparently higher earners can be seen in the store looking at a variety of fresh products, snacks like tuna wraps and frozen food. The blond attractive woman at the counter is called Sybille, holds a PhD in German Literature and is pushing a brand-new navy blue buggy with a vintage look. She is concerned with her family’s health and eats strictly vegan herself. Her daughter Mia is 8 years old and knows what she likes the best. The chicken strips for lunch “but without the dead chicken inside”. She has a rabbit at home and says every animal should live like her beloved “Amelie”.
The love for animals and the profound resentment of factory farming is one reason to lead a vegan life. Another reason is that more and more people decide for a healthy nutrition. That shows also in the book trade. Only three vegan cook books were published in German language in 2010, whereas in 2016 there were 211 releases according to VEBU.
Attila Hildmann shows with his famous vegan cook books that being vegan does not mean leading a boring life, eating always the same and being the pale and skinny person a lot of people still imagine. The fit and convinced vegan author is a role model for a generation, which is concerned with a conscious lifestyle. “You can change your body completely in only 30 days” is the message with which he has managed to convince people around the world of veganism. Since he has published his books during the rise of the vegan movement, he has become one of the most prominent figures of this wave.
Linda Konnopke, who studies marketing management, knew that their 85 year old family business had to be open to new concepts. She is part of the young generation which is always trying to make the best of themselves and their time. “We wanted to keep the tradition of course but also move with the times. The vegan option which is 100% soya is very popular now.” They sell the vegan currywurst since may 2015. The traditional currywurst costs 1,90 €, the vegan “Wurst” is 2,50€.
Vegetarian and Vegan products have made their way to the center of society but they are still more expensive than their meat counterparts. But people in Friedrichshain, Prenzlauer Berg and Kreuzberg are willing to pay for a better lifestyle. There are by now three Veganz supermarkets in Berlin only selling vegan products but also in regular supermarkets vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes are becoming more visible.
Not visible enough argues Christian Schmidt the German minister of agriculture. He wants to forbid names like vegan or vegetarian “Schnitzel”. In an article on their homepage, the newspaper Handelsblatt quotes Schmidt saying that it would be “completely misleading” for the consumer. He seems to underestimate the intelligence of the buyer. This brings up the question if anyone craving a beef steak has accidently bought a vegan substitute. Julia Kuttler, business psychology student in Berlin and vegetarian for 8 years, who only recently came from Colorado, U.S.A. and cannot find anything confusing about the meatless products. “Products have very clear packaging here in Germany. In the U.S. “chicken” would become “Chick’n”, which could be an extra help for people who are not familiar with substitute products”. In Germany a big green “V” with a leaf on one side is emblazoned on the packaging.
At the end of the day, the currywurst remains a symbol of the German capital and it is not possible to imagine Berlin without snack bars like Konnopke’s Imbiss. “If you come to Berlin you don’t want to miss out on the currywurst experience, even if you decided for a meatless life”, says the American girl with a smile on her face. The mere fact that an old traditional food such as currywurst is adapting to this new lifestyle is a sign of the changing times. Today veganism no longer means sacrifice, but rather openness to a new lifestyle and new experiences.