In recent years, declining prices have prevailed

With an hourly wage, German consumers can once again afford more chicken meat. In 2003, for example, an industrial worker could buy 8,7 kilograms of frozen chicken meat for one hour's gross wages, which was around 860 grams more than in 2002 and even around 1,4 kilograms more than in 2001. The main reason for this development is the fall in consumer prices and not wage increases for the workers. The reverse was the case from the early 1970s to the mid-1990s. At that time, wages were rising, but shop prices were at a fairly stable level.

In 2003, poultry prices in the German retail trade were generally characterized by a clear downward trend, which began in the second half of the 90s. The only outlier was 2001, which was dominated by the BSE crisis on the beef market and led to a boom in demand for poultry. On average in 2003, local consumers only had to pay 1,77 euros for a kilogram of frozen chicken meat, which was 15 cents less than in 2002 and 25 cents less than in 1996. Fresh roast chickens were also not as expensive last year, the average price per kilo was 3,35 euros, compared to 3,56 euros in 2002 and 3,46 euros in 1996. Chicken cutlets cost an average of 7,91 euros per kilogram at the store level, compared to 8,51 euros a year 2002 and 8,89 euros in 1996. The purchase of turkey meat also became cheaper for German citizens in 2003, on average to 7,76 euros, compared to 7,87 euros in 2002 and 8,56 euros in 1996.

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ZMP market graphic

In Germany, poultry was one of the growth products in 2003. According to the supply balance for the German poultry market agreed between ZMP and the Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, the per capita consumption of poultry meat increased quite significantly in the past year - regardless of all the effects of the avian influenza in the Netherlands. According to preliminary information, it totaled 18,2 kilograms per inhabitant, which was 1,0 kilograms more than in 2002. This is already back to the previous record level of the "BSE year" 2001.

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In her government statement, Consumer Minister Renate Künast warned of the dangers of poor nutrition and lack of exercise. With a comprehensive program, the federal government wants to underline the importance of healthy nutrition and sufficient exercise for children, young people and senior citizens. 

It is important for a healthy diet that all social forces work together, Künast told the German Bundestag in Berlin on June 17th. Healthy eating and exercise play an important role in day-care centres, in schools, in companies and also in homes for the elderly. That's why they're currently building a "Nutrition and Exercise" platform.

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SPD Gabriele Hiller-Ohm on the food movement

Gabriele Hiller-Ohm, the rapporteur responsible for the consumer protection, nutrition and agriculture working group of the SPD parliamentary group, commented on today's government declaration "A new food movement for Germany".

The contrasts couldn't be more blatant: in Sudan, children starve to death in front of their mothers and fathers. In Sweden, parents are being stripped of their custody because their five-year-old child, weighing 43 kilograms, is at risk of becoming obese.

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On the occasion of a government statement by Federal Consumer Minister Renate Künast (B'90/Greens), the Bundestag debated deficits in nutrition and physical activity among children and young people. More and more children and young people in Germany are overweight. According to the Federal Consumer Ministry, according to recent studies, 10 to 20 percent of all children and young people are already overweight. 7 to 8 percent of them are severely overweight. Children from socially disadvantaged and migrant families are particularly affected. In parallel with less and less exercise, young people are consuming foods with too much fat and sugar.

According to the CDU MP Julia Klöckner, however, government policy is uncoordinated and patronizing. In the debate, Klöckner spoke out in favor of treating all nutritional problems in children and young people equally. However, the one-sided focus of the Ministry's policy on overweight people neglects the equally numerous cases of malnutrition and anorexics. The minister lacked solutions, she was only producing image campaigns, said Klöckner.

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Höfken [Bündnis 90/Die Grünen]: The food industry should make its contribution - the Union and Liberals should stop ridiculing healthy food - if necessary, the state must regulate

On the occasion of today's government declaration for a new food movement in Germany, Ulrike Höfken, consumer and agricultural policy spokeswoman for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, explains:

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Future topics in agriculture in five forums

The general meeting of the German Farmers' Association (DBV) on June 28th and 29th, 2004 in Bonn will be shaped by the discussion of future political and market developments in the course of the EU agricultural reform. After the meeting of the DBV Executive Committee on June 28th, the Prime Minister of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Peer Steinbrück, will address the delegates. The 481 delegates from the state farmers' associations and the participants in the young farmers' meeting will then discuss the future of the milk market, meat production, arable farming with innovative renewable energies, agricultural social policy, fruit and vegetable market and agricultural social policy.

In Forum 1, the future of the agricultural social security systems will be discussed by the deputy chairwoman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Gerda Hasselfeldt, the deputy spokeswoman for consumer protection, food and agriculture of the SPD parliamentary group, Waltraud Wolff, with Franziska Eichstädt-Bohlig, member of the budget committee of the German Bundestag (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) and Leo Blum, chairman of the DBV specialist committee on social policy. The development of the milk market and how dairies and the profession should behave in the price negotiations are shown by Otto-Dietrich Steensen, chairman of the DBV milk committee, the representative of the Association of German rural youth and dairy farmer Harald Schneider in Forum 2, who with Hans-Michael Goldmann, spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group for food and agriculture, Hubertus Pellengahr, managing director of the Main Association of German Retailers, Albert Große Frie, spokesman for the board of the dairy Humana Milchunion and Dr. Theodor Seegers as representative of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

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Portrait: Tauscher, Rudolf (52), Tauscher in-house slaughterhouse in Boddin

For Rudolf Tauscher, good sausage is a question of taste and health. The qualified horticultural engineer and master butcher has been running his in-house slaughterhouse in Boddin since 1993. Only "happy" pigs and cattle go into his sausages, plenty of hand-mixed herbs and spices, but no colourings, additives or preservatives. Now he has created a pure beef sausage that even allergy sufferers get. The 52-year-old, who moved to Mecklenburg from the Ore Mountains a quarter of a century ago, produces "just like it used to be." ##|n##

After German reunification, the crop protection expert had to start from scratch. He retrained as a butcher and did his master's degree. With the recipes from his homeland in Saxony always on the tip of his tongue, he set about making sausages. What used to be five varieties have now become more than 30, plus ready meals such as solyanka, roasts, meatballs and roulades.

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The European Union is funding a transnational research project with around 13 million euros

The Veterinary Institute of the University of Göttingen under the direction of Prof. Dr. dr Bertram Brenig is a partner in a European research project that aims to decipher the genome of pigs over a period of five years. The aim of the investigations is to decode the role of genes in development, growth, health and reproduction in order to detect hereditary diseases, show new ways in animal breeding, contribute to improved animal husbandry and ensure greater safety in meat production. The European Network for Pig Genomics (PigNet) project is funded by the European Union (EU) with around 13 million euros. It is one of nine new COST Actions with which the EU is promoting transnational cooperation in the field of scientific and technical research. Experts from 17 European countries will take part in PigNet, including scientists from three research institutions in Germany.

According to Prof. Brenig, pork accounts for around 40 percent of world meat production, with around 16 percent being produced in Europe. "Intensive pig breeding and farming places increasing demands on hygiene, animal-friendly husbandry, sustainability, product quality and product safety and thus constantly requires new findings in animal science in questions of genetics, physiology, nutritional science and pathology," explains the scientist from Göttingen. Within the framework of PigNet, European research in this area is now to be bundled and intensified. "This project will provide important impetus - not only for the institutes involved, but also for the potential users of the research results," says Prof. Brenig. On the German side, in addition to the Veterinary Institute of the University of Göttingen, the Institute for Animal Breeding and Animal Husbandry of the University of Kiel and the Research Institute for the Biology of Agricultural Livestock in Dummerstorf are also involved. Prof. Brenig has been appointed a member of the national management committee that will coordinate and implement the German activities within PigNet.

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WIBERG Primolios are purely plant-based marinades in different flavors based on oil, which cover the meat evenly - taste and protection in one! The seasoning can be optimally absorbed into the meat. The marinade covers the surface like a coat and adheres very well to the meat. Primolios are very heat stable and therefore ideal for pan frying and grilling. They have a creamy and spreadable consistency and protect the meat from oxidation and graying. The oil combination ensures particularly tender and tender meat.

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Growth at discounters will decrease

The growth forecasts for the German economy for 2004 were revised downwards in mid-May. Even the optimists in the government only expect growth for 1,5 to be 2004 percent. In the first quarter, the gross domestic product increased by 0,4 percent - this corresponds to what the economic experts had expected in autumn 2003. However, only the export runs like clockwork.

The problem child of economic researchers and politicians remains the German consumer, who prefers to put their money on the high edge instead of stimulating the domestic economy with their demand: After the interim high for the Bundestag elections in September 2002, the mood of German consumers was so low until the summer of 2003 as never before. The series of atrocities, which have been the subject of political discussion since the federal elections, had unsettled buyers and depressed the willingness to buy that the lame economy so urgently needed.

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