Containers from students in the courtyard of a Rewe market in Leipzig after closing time.
Image: Matthias Lüdecke
Anyone who “rescues” food from waste containers from being destroyed can be prosecuted. Ministers Özdemir and Buschmann want to change that. Could France serve as a model here?
NNew year, new start: Politicians want to curb the destruction of food. It is also about impunity for activists who get food from supermarket waste containers in order to “save” it for consumption, in short, “containers”. Rising food prices and supply shortages have put responsible food management back on the political agenda. Added to this is the heated debate about how politicians and the courts should react when activists trying to save the climate, natural resources or food come into conflict with the legal system.
Next week in Berlin, the federal and state agricultural ministers will deal with the topic of “saving food”. Berlin’s consumer senator, Bettina Jarasch, has put the motion on the agenda. The Greens politician, whose initiative is supported by the red-green government of Lower Saxony, believes that the criminal prosecution of the containers is “no longer appropriate”. At the federal level, meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture led by Cem Özdemir (Greens) and the Federal Ministry of Justice led by Marco Buschmann (FDP) are exploring how to prevent edible food from ending up in the garbage and those who want to fight it in Robin Hood-style risk punishment.