As of: March 14, 2024, 1:44 p.m
By: Andreas Schmid
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The Bundestag is discussing the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on the subject of nutrition.
Not all of the nine proposals are met with cheers.
Things get heated when it comes to VAT.
For several months, 160 people in Germany discussed the topic of nutrition.
Organized in the first citizens' assembly on the topic.
The result is nine recommendations that the Citizens' Assembly has prioritized.
The SPD, Greens and FDP had announced in the coalition agreement that they wanted to use “new forms of citizen dialogue” such as citizens’ councils.
However, there is no obligation for the suggestions to be implemented.
Essentially, the citizens' assembly agreed on the following points:
The recommendations of the Citizens' Council on Nutrition
Free lunch for all children
Mandatory state label for “conscious shopping”
For large supermarkets, it is mandatory to pass on edible food that would otherwise be thrown away (e.g. to food banks)
Mandatory, state-run “animal welfare label”
New tax rate for food (0 percent on fruit, vegetables and water)
Healthy communal catering in nursing facilities/hospitals
Animal welfare bonus (one-off subsidy and ongoing bonus of 40 cents per kilo of meat, two cents per egg and liter of milk, 15 cents per kilo of cheese, butter and milk powder)
Energy drinks only for ages 16 and up
More staff for food inspections
Amthor and Künast on “sugar tax through the back door”
The responsible rapporteur for the CDU/CSU, Philipp Amthor, commented on the proposals in advance of the debate.
When asked by
IPPEN.MEDIA
, Amthor said: “While we fundamentally welcome the demands to strengthen nutrition education, we are critical of the tax policy proposals.” Taxes “should actually serve to finance the state and not to educate citizens,” said Amthor .
In particular, the Union rejects a “sugar tax through the back door or a unilateral restructuring of meat taxation based on farming methods”.
In the Bundestag, Green Party politician Renate Künast took up Amthor's statements.
“I think the idea of VAT is brilliant,” said the former Federal Food Minister.
The Citizens’ Assembly “wrote something in politicians’ homework books,” said Künast.
“People say: They want vegetables and fruit to be cheaper and sugar to be more expensive.
There is scientific knowledge behind it.
I like that."
Renate Künast (Greens) and Philipp Amthor (CDU) discussed the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Nutrition on Thursday.
© picture alliance/dpa|Britta Pedersen/Kilian Genius// (montage)
Citizens' Council: "Recommendations are neither implemented directly nor do they disappear into the drawer"
In addition to the pure content aspects, the Bundestag also discussed the general “Citizens’ Council” format.
The Union criticized the citizens' assembly's procedure.
It would delegitimize Parliament.
“What are you actually afraid of?” asked SPD politician Matthias Miersch in the Bundestag.
“This citizens’ assembly has provided very valuable impetus for our work.”
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Individual FDP politicians were also skeptical.
FDP politician Gero Clemens Hocker spoke of “make-a-wish suggestions”.
In the Bundestag, he criticized, among other things, the free lunch.
That is neither fair nor feasible.
There is praise from daycare representatives: “The Citizens’ Council’s demand for a good quality lunch for all children definitely makes sense,” said Waltraud Weegmann, federal chairwoman of the German Daycare Association, to our editorial team.
“In this way, all children could benefit from a healthy diet in daycare.”
The responsible FDP rapporteur, Stephan Thomae, expressed himself more positively to our editorial team: “It is good for our democracy to try out such new, innovative concepts.”
However, the specific redesign is questionable.
“The results of the citizens’ assembly must be viewed realistically.
They are neither implemented directly nor do they disappear into the drawer.”
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