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Piglets in a barn in Lower Saxony: animals should have more space
Photo: imago images / Countrypixel
In the dispute over the financing of the planned conversion of animal husbandry to higher standards, the FDP has spoken out against price surcharges for supermarket customers.
"There must be no further burden on consumers, neither through VAT nor through a levy," said Carina Konrad, FDP parliamentary group leader, to the editorial network Germany.
"That doesn't fit into a time when prices are rising sharply everywhere," Konrad told the newspaper.
Again and again, social organizations had warned of additional burdens from a levy or consumption tax for low-income households.
The additional one billion euros provided for in the federal budget for barn conversions is a strong signal and a good basis for the first time, said FDP politician Konrad.
"Not all stables will be converted in the first year."
The governing coalition has been discussing secure funding for farmers for months so that they are not left with the additional costs of more animal welfare in the stables.
A higher VAT rate or an “animal welfare tax” on animal products are under discussion.
A surcharge of 40 cents per kilogram of meat would be conceivable.
The previous government had already developed proposals for more animal welfare in the stables - and already brought price increases into play.
Is there a need for an organic level in the labeling of husbandry?
Most recently, the debate about cheap prices, especially for meat, had fueled the topic.
Green Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir said there should be "no more junk prices" for food that ruin farms and prevent more animal welfare.
To this end, he had the introduction of a ban on the sale of food below production costs examined.
Critics fear that such a ban or levy could make the current system even more complicated and that the money from additional tax revenue will not reach the farmers in a targeted manner.
The reform of the financing system is part of a planned mandatory animal husbandry labeling agreed in the coalition agreement.
Özdemir wants to launch it this year.
The first step is to start with pork.
Konrad said about the preparations for the labeling: "The label must not fail because of moral overload, such as insisting on an organic level." This would mean that even more animal husbandry operations that were just hoping for good framework conditions would give up.
There are also conventional farmers who keep animals even better than organic farms.
apr/dpa
