Germany faces meat shortage due to ‘climate change’
Germany’s meat industry leaders are warning of a meat shortage in the coming months due to the government’s fight against “climate change,” which includes reducing the number of livestock by 50% to curb carbon emissions.
"In four, five, six months we will have gaps on the shelves," German Meat Industry Association (VDF) Board Member Hubert Kelliger told Die Welt.
Meat prices are expected to rise 40%, with pork expected to be the hardest hit, according to The Financial Trends. Despite the country’s push toward veganism, the reduction in livestock is also expected to contribute to a shortage in natural fertilizer, which will impact vegetable yields.
Germany, which is Europe’s largest economy, is also the continent’s largest meat importer. 90% of German citizens eat meat.
The “gaps on the shelves” are being filled by vegan meat producer Beyond Meat, who just announced a major expansion in Germany. The California-based company's plant-based products are about to hit 1,600 retail markets across the country.
“Half of Germans now eat less animal meat than they did five years ago; one in five now consume plant-based meat at least once a week. We are very proud to bring our popular Beyond Burger to more REWE supermarkets. This way, people across Germany can benefit from the advantages that plant-based meat has and continue to eat what they love,” said Beyond Meat Retail DACH Sales Manager Jaap Veth in a statement.
Germany is one of several countries waging a war on meat for its impact on the environment.
Last month, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern proposed taxing farmers for the “greenhouse gas emissions” resulting from their livestock’s burps and urine. Under the proposal, farmers who meet a certain herd or fertilizer threshold will be forced to pay the government a tax set every one to three years.
Ardern, who once threatened to ban summer unless enough citizens took the government’s COVID injections, assumes farmers will celebrate her new proposal.
“The proposal, as it stands, means New Zealand’s farmers are set to be the first in the world to reduce agricultural emissions,” said Ardern, whose rationale is that farmers will be able to charge more for their products if they are “environmentally friendly.” Ardern did not present data showing a high demand among meat consumers for “sustainable” meat.
Canada’s government is investing $6.5 million (C$8.5 million) in a new production plant that will produce cricket protein for pet and human food, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada said in a statement. The facility will be run by Aspire Food Group, whose “vision is to celebrate, innovate, and advance responsible farming and healthy eating of insects,” according to the company’s website.
The facility, housed in London, Ontario, is expected to house four billion crickets and produce 13 million kilograms of cricket protein per year, according to CBC News.
Mainstream media outlets are also making a concerted push for a “meat tax” which would penalize the meat-farming industry. According to climate catastrophists, the excrement produced through livestock and poultry farming harms the weather.
