Agriculture
Özdemir: Farmers must have a livelihood
Cem Özdemir with activists of the protest action in Berlin. Photo: Fabian Sommer/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The agricultural alliance calls for a system change in agriculture and denounces abuses in the food industry. They find open ears with the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Cem Özdemir.
Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) underlined the social importance of agriculture in Germany.
“I don’t want to live in a country where farmers give up and the land is then taken over by some anonymous investor,” Özdemir said at a demonstration by the agricultural alliance. “We’re fed up!” in Berlin. “This is how the villages go to pieces, this is how the country goes to pieces.” He emphasized the value of the farm succession – “that the young people like to take over their businesses and have a livelihood”.
The Alliance “We’re fed up!” wants to implement a system change in agriculture and denounces abuses in the food industry. According to the police, the farmers were on Saturday with 25 tractors. Özdemir received a stick of leek from the participants – according to the organizer, a “relay leek for the agricultural turnaround”. In a protest note, 1,500 people called for a quick restructuring of agriculture in short videos.
According to the alliance, the federal government must stop farm deaths and ensure that everyone has access to good food that is free of pesticides and genetic engineering. “To protect the climate, the number of animals must be reduced and species-appropriate animal husbandry must become a model, as must organic farming.”
Özdemir said he could actually sign anything, but unfortunately it wasn’t that easy. “It’s not like the Federal Minister of Agriculture just presses a button and then it happens.” Accordingly, it is about the omissions of the last few years. He backed the alliance: “Keep up the pressure!”
The “We’re fed up” protest train through the capital has been around for years, always as part of the Green Week in Berlin, this time on a smaller scale because of the pandemic. The agricultural fair is canceled in 2022 due to corona.