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Episode details

World Service,11 Aug 2021,23 mins

The improbable rise of Europe’s 'Tofu King'

The Outlook Podcast Archive

Available for over a year

When Bernard Drosihn was growing up in 1970s Germany he rebelled against the predominantly meat-heavy diet. These were the days when no one around him had even heard of vegetarianism. He later spent time in New York where he came across tofu - a bean curd block - and a product that wasn't available in Germany. So he and some other young hippies decided to produce their own, setting up a tofu collective. Bernard tells Jo Fidgen that the local authorities saw them as dangerous radicals, and the so-called ‘meat police’ raided their premises and even threw them in jail for a few nights. Undeterred, Bernard went on to become one of Europe’s biggest producers of tofu. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Kevin Ponniah Picture: Bernd Drosihn in his tofu factory Credit: Marcus Simaitis, laif, Camera Press Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

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