Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens) has triggered a debate about balancing ecological and social aspects when determining food prices with statements against “junk prices”. The Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverband called for social compensation for the poor if food should become more expensive to protect the environment and farms. The opposition also issued a warning to keep an eye on the needs of low-income households.
Özdemir had previously criticized dumping prices for agricultural products. “There must be no more junk prices for food. They drive farms into ruin, prevent more animal welfare, promote species extinction and pollute the climate. I want to change that,” he said Picture on sunday. Of course, food should “not become a luxury good”. But the price must express “the ecological truth” more strongly. “There are three important goals”, Özdemir continues: “a safe and good income for our farmers, healthy food for all of us, and better animal welfare, climate and environmental protection.” A spokesman for Özdemir made it clear on Monday that it was “not about the state setting the price for a kilo of meat or a bunch of carrots”.
The managing director of the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband, Ulrich Schneider, demanded with a view to welfare recipients that corresponding price increases must “necessarily be accompanied by a significant increase in the standard rates. You cannot separate ecological and social issues”. It goes “only eco-social, otherwise you lose the support of the population,” said Schneider of the newspaper The world. A spokeswoman for Hubertus Heil’s Ministry of Social Affairs (SPD) pointed out that the price increases in the existing systems for basic security were repeatedly incorporated into the recalculation of the rates.
Union parliamentary group Vice Steffen Bilger (CDU) announced: “We will in any case pay very close attention to the social impact, because not everyone can afford organic products.” Bilger also pointed out that higher domestic prices could lead to more imports of cheaper food from abroad. However, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture left corresponding questions about the effects on imports and exports unanswered on Monday.