"Green deal" meets with resistance

Hanna Helder studied German language and literature at the Albert Ludwig University in Freiburg. In addition to her studies, she has gained a lot of experience in radio and print journalism through internships and freelance work. She has been at the Burda School of Journalism since October 2018 and writes, among other things, as a trainee for

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Healthier food, safe habitats for Europe's animals and biodiversity - the EU Commission has set high goals for its "Green Deal". But there is resistance.

The "Green Deal" is a core project of the EU Commission for healthier food and species protection under Ursula von der Leyen - but was recently overshadowed by the Corona crisis. The EU should become "climate neutral" by 2050, so no new greenhouse gases should enter the atmosphere. Agriculture contributes considerable amounts of greenhouse gases, especially in animal husbandry.

"Farm-to-plate" strategy

In its "farm-to-plate" strategy, the EU Commission is now looking at the entire food production chain in order to achieve the goal it has set. The EU should become a model for healthy, environmentally friendly and economically sound nutrition worldwide. Among other things, the plans provide for the use of dangerous or harmful pesticides to be halved within ten years.

Nutri-Score for finished products

A mandatory nutrition logo on the front of food should have a direct impact on consumer behavior. It is not about telling people what to buy, but about informing them better about the food.

Germany, for example, wants to introduce a logo for finished products this year - albeit on the manufacturer's voluntary basis. The system is the Nutri-Score from France. In addition to sugar, fat and salt, this also includes recommended components such as fiber in the evaluation and gives a value on a five-point scale.

Criticism from farmers and conservationists

With plans for healthier food and comprehensive nature conservation, the EU Commission has sparked violent protests from farmers. The President of the German and European Farmers' Association, Joachim Rukwied, spoke on Wednesday of a "general attack on European agriculture as a whole".

Rukwied from the farmers' association made it clear that he did not believe in the plans: "We want to continue and develop the path towards environmentally friendly agriculture. But this proposal is the wrong path." Instead of new requirements, more cooperation must be relied on.

Greenpeace criticized the "farm-to-plate" strategy as not going far enough. "Today the EU Commission missed the opportunity to bring about the end of factory farming," said Christiane Huxdorff. Without binding measures to reduce meat consumption, the climate targets could not be achieved. (hh / dpa)

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