Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Agriculture Minister Cem Ă–zdemir (Greens) believe the government should contribute to animal-friendly larger barns in livestock farming and to replacing slatted floors in the pig industry. The FDP wants to leave this to the market.
A possible tax increase falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance, led by FDP Minister Christian Lindner, and thus also under the authority of German politicians. Furthermore, the question is whether a higher tax should apply to all food or only to meat.
However, a designated surcharge on meat or dairy could fall under the BMEL ministry of Özdemir. Such a surcharge (“directly back to the farmers”) would be specifically intended for the transition to more animal-friendly production methods in the agricultural sector. Prior approval from Brussels is required for such a surcharge.
The latest proposal from Minister Özdemir includes, among other things, a “Tierwohlcent,” a surcharge on the price of meat products. How high this surcharge should be is not yet clear. So far, Özdemir has only said that the amount should be determined “politically.”
The Borchert Future Commission (more than two years ago) mentioned a surcharge of 40 cents per kilo of meat. The costs for converting livestock farming could reach up to 3.6 billion euros per year over the next fifteen years.
In the dairy and pig farming sectors, there is criticism about the lack of concrete amounts. But there is also support from the agricultural sector. If we want to transform livestock farming and continue eating meat from Germany, this option cannot be avoided. Without an animal welfare tax, this would not be possible, it is said. The German Farmers’ Association also expressed support for the “animal welfare cent.”
Ă–zdemir seems determined to implement his plans. Recently, the CDU/CSU opposition also hinted that under certain conditions it is open for discussion. The debate in German politics increasingly seems less about whether there will be nationwide funding for the agricultural transition and more about what form that funding should take.