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Germany, 'Veggie Day,' and Michelle Obama

BERLIN—The elections set to take place here in Germany Sunday are expected to turn largely on the country's solid economy, Chancellor Angela Merkel's handling of the European debt crisis and social issues like women's role in the work force. But add to that plate one more thing: Germans don't want the government telling them what to eat.

In what could be a cautionary tale for First Lady Michelle Obama's efforts to tweak Americans' diets, Germans look set to punish the Green Party for urging that public cafeterias go meat-free on a designated "Veggie Day" each week in order to help the environment and reduce cruelty to animals. Borrowing colorfully from English, German newspaper Bild described public reaction to the idea as a "shitstorm."

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At her party's final campaign rally on Saturday, Merkel joined in, slamming the Green proposal.

"You will never hear from the Christian Democratic Union party when you should eat meat and when you shouldn't," Merkel said to loud applause from her supporters and campaign workers in the Tempodrom theater.

"I grew up in a Christian house. We didn't eat meat on Fridays. I think every restaurant should have a vegetarian dish, but we are a party confident people can manage their own lives," the German prime minister added. "We are confident people will live a reasonable life and we don't want to deprive them of this opportunity."

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It was in many ways an easy shot for Merkel to take, but her resistance to "Veggie Day" seemed to involve more than just needling an opposition party over a perceived misstep. Having spent 45 years under Communist rule, she appeared to chafe at the state intruding into decisions as personal as what food to ingest.

Earlier this year, the Greens were polling consistently in the double digits, often around 15% to 16%. However, since the "Veggie Day" story broke in August, the party's following has dropped to as low as 9% in some polls. There is and was no chance of a Green becoming prime minister this year, but the drop in support may have boosted the other parties and diminished the chances of a coalition government involving Merkel's CDU and the Greens. Merkel is considered virtually certain to win a third-term as chancellor, as my colleague Emily Schultheis has reported, but the make-up of the government depends largely on the performance of smaller parties.

To be sure, the "Veggie Day" flap is far from the only thing hurting the Greens' chances at the polls Sunday. Their dalliance in the 1980s with legalizing pedophilia has gotten extensive, negative press attention during the election campaign. And their trademark environmental policies aren't providing much of an edge anymore either. Much of the Greens' ecological platform has been co-opted by the other parties, including Merkel's. In addition, some voters blame the Greens for high electricity prices.

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In part to avoid criticism about a "nanny state," Michelle Obama's diet-related campaign has until recently steered clear of giving advice to adults. Her focus has been on getting healthier food to American kids, a goal which tends to provoke less criticism.

However, last week the first lady did carry a message directly to adults: urging them and children to drink more water, even though the health benefits of doing so are ambiguous unless one also reins in sugary beverages.

Obama's diet efforts have also seemed squarely aimed at health, rather than the global warming and animal welfare messages the Greens are (or were) pushing in Germany.

The White House and the Obama Administration have seemed eager to avoid being viewed as advocates for vegetarianism or even for reducing meat consumption.

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When the Obamas visited Latin America in 2011, a Brazilian newspaper reported that the U.S. first family were vegetarians and Mrs. Obama had requested vegan food be available for the family.

However, the first lady's office denied such a request was ever made. It's possible a language barrier caused the first lady's well-publicized work on a vegetable garden led to the confusion. It's also pretty clear from public events and photos that the president and first lady both eat meat, including hamburgers.

And last summer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture came under fire from cattle producers and farm-state senators for a newsletter urging employees to observe "Meatless Mondays." The administration quickly withdrew the publication, declared it was unauthorized, and stated that the USDA—which is supposed to build the market for American meat products—does not endorse meat-free days.

Gerstein is part of an election-observing delegation sponsored by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.