Into the depths of organic products – Organic farming and the effects on animal husbandry

By Anja Rüweling “The organic market continues growing. Germany has become the largest market for organic products within the European Union”, summarized Ilse Aigner, German minister for agriculture the published data of 2011 about the organic sector in Germany. Organic farming is based on the idea of sustainability, environmentally friendly and nature-orientated farming and the consideration of animal welfare.  It is the first time that the total acreage of organic farming exceeded 1 billion hectares. According to the annual report of the ministry of agriculture the total organic acreage increased by 3.2 percent while the number of farms raised by 2.6 percent compared to the previous year.   The definition for organic farming...

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Adding fuel to the fire

by Myriam Wecker Seldom has a topic penetrated and dominated the public consciousness as actively as the issue of climate change. The European Union in particular is one of the most ambitious political actors worldwide when it comes to promoting greener energy and implementing measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One such measure is a directive which aims at replacing 10 per cent of the fossil fuels used in transportation with biofuels by 2020. The majority of Europeans commend the effort, all the while not realizing that these biofuels are largely produced in developing countries – at a devastating cost. The sun rises over green fields and lush groves. The workers are getting ready for the day, smiling at the camera as the...

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Don’t play with your food

By Dorothee Heymer Rising food prices made the headlines for the past years and have mainly been led back to natural phenomena - which fit perfectly into the omnipresent discussion about climate change. A factor that has remained widely disregarded is the effect of financial speculations on food prices. Arguments that extensive speculations on agricultural commodities drive the prices of the very commodities are pulling in votes.   ''Corn is a staple food for a majority of Kenyans. Corn flour prices have been escalating for the past three years or more and that has meant cutting down on corn intake. I had to shop for alternatives (…) in cheap supermarkets to save on costs. And if I managed to buy corn flour it had to be a minimum...

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