"We've Had Enough": Tens of Thousands Demonstrate for Organic

Courtesy:  Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance

Over 22.000 demonstrators of diverse backgrounds came together on January 22 in Berlin under the motto "We've had enough" to raise their voices against genetic engineering, monoculture, pesticides, nitrogen fertilizers and industrial livestock breeding.
The protest followed a series of decisions on German agricultural policy by Prime Minister Angela Merkel and Minister of Agriculture Ilse Aigner that give a green light to "business as usual". In addition, several German states have cut back financial assistance for the organic sector. 

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Köpke from the University of Bonn has shown that the financial assistance for converting to organic in Germany decreased by 11% between 2004 and 2009, although the demand for organic goods has been steadily growing.

Demonstrators highlighted the necessity of acting in favour of climate, biodiversity and food security by supporting Organic Agriculture, together with a change in consumers' habits and the abolition of export subsidies in the industrialized world. They also called for better education, infrastructure and political frameworks to support organic in developing countries.