Europe Cultivates Organic Farming

The German minister for Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Renate Künast, presented EU-wide reforms for agriculture policy in Luxembourg. As a member of the environmental Greens Party, Ms. Künast is a strong advocate of organic farming.

In Germany, she has already succeeded in persuading the government to adopt her non-traditional agricultural policy, and many European consumers see her reforms as a guideline for future farming in the EU.

Minister Künast's plans include promoting humane animal husbandry, producing quality organic food, establishing optimal consumer protection, and protecting the environment.

At the top of her list is outlawing cruel battery farming methods, banning antibiotics in animal feed, limiting the time animals are spent en rout to slaughter, and increasing government subsidies for organically-run farms.

The minister has said that by 2011 organic farming should comprise 20 percent of the country's overall agricultural output, 10 times the current amount. This worries many traditional farmers, who fear that their government subsidies will be drastically cut while their products become unprofitable.

Opponents to the Green's agricultural policy are not limited to Germany. The strongest criticism comes from France and Spain, where a large percentage of the population is involved in large-scale industrial farming.

Pushing through organic farming reforms on the European level will not be an easy task, and many are questioning whether Ms. Künast will succeed in convincing the EU to adopt at least some of her proposals.