Agricultural scientist Friedhelm Taube does not have a good opinion of politicians when it comes to the implementation of the Green Deal. Taube, who was a member of the Scientific Advisory Council on Agricultural Policy at the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) from 2012 to 2021, told Table.Media that the research community had expected a new dawn after „years of obstruction by the CDU/CSU and the Klöckner ministry“. However, this has not happened.
„The FDP has taken over 110 percent of the Union’s lobby representation. The Greens and Cem Özdemir are not approaching the conflicts with their coalition partners with nearly enough courage,“ says Taube. The Chancellor’s party is even failing completely. „No one from the SPD is trying to cut the Gordian knot“, says the non-party professor from Kiel, who was appointed shadow agriculture minister by the CDU under Daniel Günther before the 2017 state elections.
‘The turnaround in nutrition is necessary’
The agricultural turnaround is not a political project, but a scientific necessity. What should be implemented with the Green Deal in the EU is the state of research on the question of how land use should run in harmony with resource conservation, explains Taube. „The most important thing is to communicate the need for a food transition to the populations of rich countries and to underpin this politically.“ He is not aware of any study worldwide that sees it differently.
„We need to massively reduce our meat consumption“, says Taube, by 50 to 70 percent. „If we were to halve the consumption of animal products in rich countries, we could halve hunger in the world at the same time. The leverage is immense.“ Europe could at least double its exports of bread grain, as a new Nature study shows. „We wouldn’t have to become vegetarians to achieve this, but rather ‘flexitarians’.“
Plea for ‘third ways’
Organic farming does not endanger the world’s food supply. This argument of the farmers’ association is wrong. „If we consumed less meat, we could even do more organic farming and still fight world hunger.“ Nevertheless, Taube believes that the traffic light target of 30% organic farming by 2030 is „neither realistic nor sensible“. He advocates „third ways“ between conventional and organic farming: „If conventional farmers only align 50 percent of their crop rotation with organic standards, they can manage without plant protection and mineral fertilizers.“ However, one side of politics insists on the status quo, while the other advocates the pure organic doctrine.