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Broad alliance of many social actors
The "Nutrition and Exercise" platform was founded in Berlin. Founding members of the registered association are: the Federal Government represented by the Federal Ministry of Consumers, the food industry represented by the Federation for Food Law and Food Science, the Federal Parents' Council, the German Sports Federation/German Sports Youth, the German Society for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, the Union for Food, Enjoyment and Restaurants (NGG), the leading associations of statutory health insurance companies represented by the Federal Association of Guild Health Insurance Funds and the Centrale Marketing-Gesellschaft der Deutschen Landwirtschaftswirtschaft.
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The Irish joint marketing agency Bord Bia has intensified its efforts to place Irish beef in the Eastern European accession countries since the beginning of the year. Each of the four most important markets – Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia – was visited by a delegation in order to establish contacts with local food retailers. In the Czech Republic, which has a high price level compared to the other Eastern European accession countries, Irish beef is already listed as a premium product in three leading retail chains; Trial deliveries were sent to potential customers in Poland and Hungary. Promotional campaigns in the food retail trade in the candidate countries are planned for autumn 2004. According to estimates by Bord Bia, the accession of the ten new countries to the EU harbors both opportunities and risks for Irish beef exports.
In addition to opening up the new EU country markets, Bord Bia is also trying to increase Irish beef exports to the "old" EU countries and to withdraw as much as possible from third-country business. According to the organization, 85 percent of all beef exports worth a total of almost 1,3 billion euros were sold to EU countries last year.
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No unit in sight
Nationwide, 2.311 inspectors are currently checking compliance with hygiene regulations in the food sector. This is the result of a recently published statistic by the Baden-Württemberg State Association of Food Inspectors in the trade journal "Der Lebensmittelkurier".
The food control in the individual federal states may vary greatly, since the number of inspectors in relation to the number of inhabitants, but also to the number of companies to be monitored, differs significantly. On average, statistically, each food inspector has around 35.000 residents and 464 businesses to be monitored. However, the differences between the individual countries are large.
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Direct marketers work more and more professionally
A working group from the Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences at the University of Kassel has examined the supply and demand side for the direct marketing of agricultural products in Germany. The investigations revealed that direct marketing has continued to increase in recent years, albeit at a slower pace.
The researchers point out that this growth is despite sharply increased competition, price wars and concentration in the food trade. In addition, direct marketing is being pursued more and more professionally by many companies. The high-revenue companies in the group examined have grown to annual sales of more than EUR 500.000 per company for direct marketing products.
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More beef to East Asia
In East Asia, demand for Australian beef has risen sharply. The cause is the BSE crisis in North America. After two cases of cattle disease became known there last year, the export markets for North American beef almost completely collapsed due to import bans. Japan and South Korea in particular – until then the most important export markets for the USA – are now increasingly importing beef from Australia.
Around 65 percent of Australian beef is exported. No other country is similarly dependent on world trade. In recent years, however, Australia has lost market share. Prolonged periods of drought caused production to fall. The strong Australian dollar also hampered exports.
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German Raiffeisen Day in Cologne
In the national implementation of the EU agricultural reform, far too little attention is paid to the consequences for the competitive position of German agriculture and agriculture in Europe. “There is a risk of declining sales, especially for animal products, and the loss of jobs along the entire value chain from field to plate. Since each EU member state also wants to implement its own model, there is a risk of a patchwork quilt in agricultural policy in Europe. And that puts the single market at risk,” warned Manfred Nussel, President of the German Raiffeisen Association (DRV), at the Raiffeisen Day in Cologne.
The forced set-aside of cultivated areas, which is also planned after the agricultural reform, is considered by Nussel to be an inconsistent measure. In view of the tight global supply balances for grain and oilseeds, the set-aside system should be completely abolished in the EU. The design of the EU energy crop premium is also impractical. “Although good experiences have been made with the cultivation of renewable raw materials on set-aside land, cooperatives are not allowed to contractually bundle the supply of energy crops. The processors, e.g. B. Oil mills are not interested in signing individual contracts with thousands of farmers. This is the original task of the cooperatives. The current energy crop premium regulation will lead to distortions of competition between large and small-scale agricultural regions in Germany," feared Nussel.
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The European Commission has cleared a deal by which the Danish producer cooperative Danish Crown will acquire the British company Flagship Foods. Post-acquisition, Danish Crown will strengthen its presence in the UK, but sufficient competitors will remain.
Danish Crown's plan to acquire British company Flagship Foods was notified to the Commission for clearance in Europe on 13 May 2004. This is the first transaction notified and under review under the new Merger Regulation 139/2004.
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A speech by EU Commissioner David Byrne at the Media Forum NRW Cologne to the Association of German Newspaper Publishers on June 21, 2004
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am pleased that the Federal Association of German Newspaper Publishers has invited me to speak to you today. I know that a number of European initiatives for which I am responsible have raised concerns in some sections of the German media. I firmly believe that these initiatives are well founded and will promote the health and well-being of European citizens.
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On the basis of a proposal from the European Commission, the Council decided that the European Union will sign the revised "European Convention for the Protection of Animals During International Transport". This agreement tightens the regulations in Europe. The revised version of the Convention, originally adopted in 1968, includes significant improvements in animal welfare, in line with the recent relevant Commission proposal (see IP/03/1023) and current EU legislation.
David Byrne, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, welcomed the update to the Convention: "The welfare of animals during transport is a matter close to the heart of many Europeans and I welcome any improvement in conditions. I was disappointed that Member States could not reach an agreement on the Commission's recent proposal to tighten EU transport conditions, but I still hope for a solution soon."
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Commentary by Prof. Dr. Matthias Horst, Chief Executive of the Federation for Food Law and Food Science (BLL), on the discussion of Federal Minister Renate Künast
The German food industry welcomes the broad debate on the causes, prevention and effective solutions to obesity in children and adolescents, which was launched again in the Bundestag on June 17, 2004. Since this is a multifactorial problem of importance to society as a whole, the problem of overweight can only be successfully combated if all social actors pull together and act together. There are already a wealth of initiatives for better nutrition education and the promotion of physical activity, also on the part of the food industry. Now it is time to bundle all these measures and to look for a sustainable solution for society as a whole on a scientific basis. The food industry will continue to vigorously pursue the projects it has already initiated.
However, focusing the discussion on individual foods, as was often the case in the past, does not do justice to the complex topic - this is also shown by scientific work. The Kiel Obesity Prevention Study shows that normal and overweight children hardly differ in their nutritional patterns. A survey of more than 6800 children starting school in Bavaria came to similar conclusions: Overweight children do not eat certain foods more often, such as chocolate and crisps. In addition, consumption studies in Germany show that the consumption of grain products, fruit and vegetables has tended to develop positively in accordance with the recommendations of nutritional science. The calorie intake of children and adolescents has also not increased, as the Donald study in Dortmund shows. On the other hand, calorie consumption has decreased significantly due to reduced physical activity. This results in a problem in the energy balance.
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Bundestag debate in the transcript
meat-n-more.info documents the wording of the government declaration by the Federal Minister for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture Renate Künast and the subsequent debate on June 17, 2004 in Berlin. It's always amazing what individual people's representatives say in the Bundestag.
Read the minutes of the 75-minute debate here as a [pdf file]
