German meat industrialist Clemens Tönnies has urged politicians in Berlin to continue advancing the renewal of livestock farming, warning that otherwise the industry will sooner or later collapse.
The owner of several large pig slaughterhouses stated in an interview with the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" (NOZ) that Germany needs a clear commitment from politicians to agriculture.
"The plans for a transition in livestock farming should be expedited and, in doing so, create prospects for farmers. This is what I expect from the political parties and the new federal government, regardless of which parties form it," said Tönnies. He referred to the detailed Future Plans of the (former minister) Borchert Commission.
This commission has proposed that within twenty years all animals in Germany be kept in barns with fresh outdoor air. Due to tightened animal welfare policies, a reconstruction costing billions of barns and chicken runs is necessary.
The new federal government must "finally take this up," said Tönnies. "Otherwise, livestock farming here will sooner or later come to a halt, and with it the entire sector of the economy."
The agriculture ministers of Germany’s sixteen federal states also addressed animal welfare issues last weekend, such as converting barns or alternatives to the killing of chicks. In cases of conflicting goals between animal welfare, building law, and emission law, animal welfare should take precedence, without expanding livestock numbers, they agreed.
The federal states largely agreed at their agriculture conference on a nationwide, binding animal welfare label, but Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner reminded them of European law that could obstruct its introduction. Moreover, the Bundestag will have to decide on the financing of all these plans after the formation of a new coalition.
The state ministers agreed that financing such modernization of the agricultural sector is best achieved by introducing a nationwide tax, which would amount to 41 cents for meat and 2 cents for milk. This issue will form the core of debates among German political parties in the coming week regarding the formation of a new coalition government.