Clemens Tönnies calls for "future plan instead of scrapping bonus"
At yesterday's meat summit with Federal Minister of Agriculture Julia Klöckner, entrepreneur Clemens Tönnies stood behind the agricultural producers: “The entire production chain, from the sow farmer and fattener to the slaughterhouse and meat processor, has been making financial losses for months. We now need a future plan for the German farmers, with short-term Corona aid like other industries have received. "
These corona consequences are not a structural problem in German agriculture, but a current sales problem, after all, there are no folk festivals, family celebrations, restaurants and major events. “Anyone who demands scrapping premiums now is tearing down the stables in Germany and rebuilding them in Poland, Spain and Denmark. Livestock husbandry is an essential branch of the economy in rural areas. Here politicians are required to show a plan for the future. After all, a sustainable food supply can only be achieved in regional cycles. "
The Federal Research Institute Thünen also considers a reduction in the number of animals to be the wrong approach. A reduced German supply would pretty quickly lead to the meat being imported from other countries, resulting in poorer animal and climate protection conditions.
“The German production chain is experiencing a severe sales crisis in this pandemic. That is why we now need Corona help at short notice, "says Clemens Tönnies. “It is good that the German food retail industry is committed to quality meat from Germany.” In the medium term, Tönnies demands that politicians acknowledge the increased subsidy rates for animal welfare stalls and finally implement the recommendations of the Borchert Commission. "If we don't act now, we will experience farm deaths in Germany and an increase in imports of animal-based foods."
