Appeal to a future federal government
Before the coalition negotiations began in Berlin, the meat industry asked the SPD, Greens and FDP parties to be more objective in terms of animal husbandry and meat consumption in their talks on climate protection measures. At a media event on the subject of “Climate protection and livestock husbandry” organized by the Focus Meat industry initiative, Steffen Reiter, the initiative's spokesman, said: “In recent years, the agricultural and meat industries have reduced their emissions by 20 percent - while increasing production volumes at the same time. However, greenhouse gas emissions from animal husbandry mainly originate from natural cycles. In contrast, CO2 from fossil fuels is responsible for the increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. "
Reiter emphasized that a sharp reduction in the number of animals was not a solution. That would only shift the problem abroad, because the food would then be imported from abroad, where the production conditions in animal husbandry are probably far more harmful to the climate. “For more than a year now, we have had a plan drawn up by all relevant personnel to improve animal welfare in livestock husbandry in Germany. This plan contributes in various ways to achieving further CO2 reduction targets in animal husbandry and must now be implemented quickly. Then we are a big step further. "
According to Dr. Gereon Schulze Althoff, board member of the Association of the Meat Industry, in 2020 almost five percent of greenhouse emissions in Germany were caused by animal husbandry in order to produce meat, milk, butter, eggs and cheese as food. He emphasized that work is currently being carried out at all levels of the industry to achieve further improvements. “Our focus is on realizing the climate protection goals in circular animal husbandry. We are well on the way to achieving this goal. ”As an example, he cited sustainable feeding concepts, improved manure management along with the reduction of petroleum-based artificial fertilizer and the avoidance of food waste through the use and processing of the entire carcass.
The current report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has impressively described the urgency for further measures. “At the same time, we are pleased that the scientific findings have led to a revision of the calculations of methane emissions by the IPCC: The global warming potential of methane emissions from German cattle herds has been three to four times overestimated, while methane emissions from fossil sources have been four to four times overestimated has been undervalued five times, ”said Schulze Althoff. “These new findings must now find their way into climate policy in order not to draw wrong conclusions. Action plans that justify a further reduction in animal husbandry in Germany with methane emissions must be revised. "
The climate officer of the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture, Ansgar Lasar, clearly showed how clearly the emissions associated with agriculture can be traced back to cycles. “More than 80 percent of German greenhouse gas emissions are caused by burning fossil fuels. Technologies are already known to replace these with renewable energies in a climate-neutral way. In agriculture, more than 90 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions come from biological processes that cannot be easily influenced. "
Lasar: "More than a third of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions are methane emissions from the digestion of ruminants." However, for Lasar, reducing the number of cattle is no solution. "Without cattle, German pastures and grass would not be able to be used. In the end, this grass becomes food, and the meadows in turn contribute to carbon sequestration ”.
A recent study by the Woodwell Climate Research Center underscores these theses. The US researchers working with Philip Duffy see great potential for reducing methane emissions, especially in the production of gas and crude oil. If more careful work was done here and there were no leaks, a large part of the methane emissions could be avoided. For agriculture, the scientists see a further improvement in feeding as a lever to reduce methane emissions.
