– “Climate crisis = food crisis” –
Farmers are protesting today together with the Last Generation at the Brandenburg Gate.
Berlin, September 05.10.2023, 08.20, XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. – On Thursday morning around 07.45:17 a.m., supporters of the last generation and farmers gathered for a joint protest on the Straße des XNUMX. Juni in Berlin-Mitte. Several people are currently blocking the road with a dozen bales of hay and straw. In front of them they hold a banner with the inscription: “Climate crisis = food crisis”.
The biologist and vegetable gardener Amelie Deschler (34) took part in the peaceful protest. She explains what is now finally driving her from the fields to the streets of Berlin with the following words: “Every day I ask myself with concern: How far and for how long can we adapt? Where does adaptation have its limits? Here on site and in the fields of this world? It makes me sad and angry to have to ask myself these questions. I actually don't want to have to face it. And certainly not a priority.
Because the most urgent question I have to ask is: What is stopping the world's governments from doing everything possible to reduce destructive emissions? We have to take action and slow down the ongoing catastrophe before the food systems collapse in even more places in the world - with all the social and existential consequences.”
The protest will take place at the intersection of EbertstraĂźe/StraĂźe des 17. Juni, in the immediate vicinity of the Brandenburg Gate. With traffic at a standstill, the protesters entered several lanes. At the same time, other Last Generation supporters brought eleven bales of straw and a large bale of hay in a van, which they placed on the street behind the protesters. Then they lined up Amelie Deschler and Norbert (62), former organic farmer, one of the peaceful people on the street.
Over 250 million people worldwide are already affected by acute hunger. [1] Global warming is further exacerbating the existing food crisis. Rapid onset of lightning droughts, long-lasting dry periods and heavy rainfall endanger crops worldwide and lead to both quality and serious losses in yield of unprecedented proportions. Corn yields, for example, which are crucial for food security in many regions, could decline by almost a quarter globally by the end of the century. [2]
The German Raiffeisen Association, the umbrella organization of cooperatively organized companies in the German agricultural and food industry, warns: Even in Germany, reliably good harvests are becoming increasingly difficult. [3]
In addition to the protest with farmers in solidarity, blockades are taking place again this morning in downtown Berlin and on the A 100 motorway. With their undeterred and indefinite protest, the supporters of the last generation are sending a clear signal: We must get out of oil, gas and coal by 2030 at the latest - continuing fossil fuels will lead us to social collapse. Until the Scholz government initiates the urgently needed change, the protests on Berlin's streets will continue.
[1] New UN report on the global food crisis: A quarter of a billion people affected - United Nations - Regional Information Center for Western Europe (unric.org)
[2] Study: Climate change endangers our harvests more than expected – SWR Wissen
[3] Extensification endangers security of supply | German Raiffeisen Association eV