Künast on the "absurd" hunger situation: "We have to fundamentally change our food system"

Created: 06/25/2022, 06:43

By: Andreas Schmid

Renate Künast (Greens) calls for a reduction in VAT on vegetables, fruit and pulses and talks about the global hunger situation.

"We promoted overexploitation" © Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa (Montage)

In an interview, Renate Künast talks about global hunger and the "consequences of our diet".

The VAT for vegetables and fruit must "down".

Munich - The world population is starving more and more.

According to the United Nations, at least 1.6 billion people are currently suffering from a complex crisis of war, corona and climate change.

According to Green Party politician Renate Künast, this is also due to an "absurd" world food system promoted by the West.

"We promoted overexploitation," says the former Federal Minister of Agriculture (2001 to 2005) in an interview with

from IPPEN.MEDIA.

At the same time, Künast talks about the "consequences of our own diet" and calls for "fundamental changes to our entire food system".

This also succeeds with political decisions: “VAT down on vegetables, fruit and legumes.”

Ms. Künast, with regard to the export problems with grain, you said recently that the question had to be asked "whether the world food system is not in an imbalance".

How do you answer this question?

Of course it is in a sloping position.

The Ukraine war has relentlessly shown that we need to talk about the connections between the global supply situation.

Countries in East Africa, where chickpeas were grown, for example, are now dependent on the wheat harvest in Ukraine and Russia.

It's downright absurd.

And then there are other problems at the same time.

Which specifically?

The climate crisis has long been a reality, we are right in the middle of it.

We also use some regions for our nutrition.

For having strawberries or tulips in the shops all year round.

We live in an unfair international division of labor: we have paid far too little attention to the effects of the climate crisis and our way of doing business on other regions.

We have not helped the countries to set up their own agriculture, but have promoted the overexploitation of people and nature.

But the Ukraine war also shows us bluntly the consequences of our own diet.

In what way?

Most of the fruit and vegetables in our supermarkets are imported, for example from Spain.

At the same time, 60 percent of the grain we grow is fed to animals to produce meat and milk.

Additional animal feed is imported from Argentina or southern Brazil, for example.

In addition, with all the excess, we throw away about a third of all food.

That's wrong.

We also need a crop production strategy for animal nutrition, but we have to ask ourselves how many animals we want to keep.

Especially when we want to use space efficiently.

Because the competition for space will continue to intensify in the coming years.

And we can't afford to let people starve.

Our individual health also depends on food production.

Renate Künast: "We have to fundamentally change our entire food system"

You recently said: “At the moment we are producing and consuming a lot of the wrong stuff”.

What exactly are we doing wrong?

More than 50 percent of older men are overweight.

Statutory health insurance companies spend tens of billions on nutrition-related illnesses.

Something's wrong.

Nutritionally, meat consumption needs to go down, especially red meat.

Because he is not healthy, which can be seen, for example, with the risk of colon cancer.

We also consume too many highly processed foods that contain too much salt, fat and sugar.

Behind this are monocultures of sugar cane and palm oil plantations.

The problem: many developing countries are imitating the western food course.

Europe has a responsibility here.

We have to fundamentally change our entire food system.

If we do that, it will affect other countries.

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Does that mean that the individual customer in the supermarket has an influence on the global food situation?

It is wrong to reduce this to the individual consumer.

We have allowed a false food and agricultural industry.

The problem is not the individual consumer, but the entire chain.

We have an oversupply in the supermarket until closing time.

Consumers are encouraged to buy as much as possible.

We have far too little transparency in the market, for example when it comes to pesticides.

So the question is much more: What is offered to consumers on the market?

A decisive factor here is the out-of-home catering from the fair to the canteen.

There is a need for more regional and seasonal offers, more vegetables.

In 2013 they called for Veggie Day.

The meatless day in canteens should become standard once a week.

Nine years later, how do you view this idea?

A lot has happened since then.

Berlin has a nutrition strategy, Bremen is also very far.

Munich or Nuremberg also have an eye on nutrition.

Andernach has long been an Edible City.

Student unions are changing their canteens so that there is a lot of vegetarian or vegan food.

There is a willingness to improve out-of-home catering.

Even with the canteen cooks.

Künast calls for a reduction in VAT on vegetables and fruit: "Everything speaks in favor of it"

Let's stay with the consumer: Rising food prices are also causing problems in Germany.

What speaks against reducing VAT on vegetables and fruit?

Nothing.

Everything speaks for it.

So it fails because of the FDP?

Let me put it this way: We still need a majority.

However, as part of a comprehensive dietary change, not for acute relief.

Critics argue that the watering can system doesn't work.

Since the rich would also benefit, the state lost important income.

Which in turn is needed to support the financially weak.

A “perfect storm” is currently brewing.

A variety of crises such as rising greenhouse gases or species extinction.

We must be ready to use all tools to improve the situation.

We can change something through taxes: what has the least negative impact on the environment, produces the fewest greenhouse gases and is also the healthiest should actually have the best conditions.

That means: reduced VAT on vegetables, fruit and legumes.

This applies to everyone in the country, of course we also have an eye on the financially weak, especially since we are launching a comprehensive change through a food strategy by the federal government.

The factors corona, war and inflation are also mentioned in the "perfect storm".

Doesn't another point have a much greater influence on the global supply situation: the steadily increasing population growth?

There is enough food for everyone.

It's a question of distribution.

Unfortunately, we have been hungry on earth for a long time.

But that is the result of the past and has nothing to do with population growth.

It is due to the deficits in the entire world food system.

In the not-too-distant future, when women historians study our times, they will throw up their hands and wonder why mankind has made it all so unintelligent.

Although she actually knew how to produce more fairly and sustainably.

Interview: Andreas Schmid