Germany: Sausage producers demand speed from Özdemir when converting animal husbandry

The German sausage and ham producers are urging the federal government to speed up the restructuring of animal husbandry. Association President Sarah Dhem told the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung": "We finally have to get down to business." Dhem pointed out that the predecessor of Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir, CSU politician Christian Schmidt, had already worked on animal welfare labeling, "and there is still nothing". In the meantime, the economy itself has come a long way on the subject, says Dhem. She referred to the private-sector animal welfare initiative, which marks better animal husbandry on packaging and rewards farmers accordingly. "You have to saddle up on that," said Dhem. She doubts that the state can solve this better. "To want to start again from scratch is not a solution for me." In terms of financing, she rejected the increase in the VAT rate on animal products. No one can guarantee that the additional income will actually reach the farmers. In addition, ...