German Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) has called on citizens in Germany to eat less meat. “It would help the grain supply in developing and emerging countries in the medium and long term if we in the rich countries would eat less animal products,” the social democrat explained her initiative.
Schulze told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) on Tuesday that agriculture must become more sustainable. She warned. “It’s not a luxury that can be postponed.”
Some 60 percent of the corn produced worldwide alone is used to feed livestock. It is the same thing with wheat in the EU. “If we were to reduce pork production in Germany by 30 percent, one million hectares of arable land would be free – about a tenth of the arable land in Germany,” the minister explained. This could then be used to grow five million tons of grain. In the long term, this could increase food security around the world.
Schulze also referred to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The two Eastern European countries are among the largest grain exporters in the world. As a result of the hostilities, the prices for wheat and other types of grain have recently risen sharply, she said.
SPD politicians have already distinguished themselves in the past with calls for less meat consumption. Last year, SPD party leader Saskia Esken suggested eating less meat. “We have to think about how we can have less of some things without losing quality of life, and sometimes even gaining some. That applies to driving, to flying and also to meat,” said the politician at the time. At the time, the AfD criticized the initiative as the notion of a “supervising party”.