On April 27, 2016 the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and the National Office for Nature Conservation (BfN) jointly presented new results of an environmental awareness study in Berlin. For this fourth federal population survey, in the summer of 2015 2.054 German citizens above the age of 18 were interviewed about heir awareness and attitudes towards nature, conservation and biological diversity. The fields of “Agricultural Landscapes” and “Urban Nature” served as guiding themes in this survey. The following results can be summarized:
- 83 percent of respondents (45 percent “completely”, 38 percent “rather”) were in favor of stricter rules and regulations for the protection of the environment in agriculture and a majority of 93 percent demanded that animal welfare should be considered in the food production process.
- The claim that farmers should take into account the consequences of their actions on the environment received an equally large portion of consent (92 percent
.). - About three quarters of respondents considered it important, that the use of genetically modified crops in agriculture should be banned by law.
- The majority of citizens (94 percent) agreed that nature forms part of a good life and that it should be accessible in possibly all parts of city life.
Barbara Hendricks, Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, commented on the study results as follows: “Our citizens have sent us a strong signal regarding agricultural policy. Germans citizens call for agricultural practices, which are compatible with the environment and which respect animal welfare. There is a large majority in favor of a fundamental change in agriculture. This confirms my previous demand for a radical change in the system of agricultural subsidies. Also it shows, that the population rightfully does not accept genetically modified crops.”
Source: BMUB
More information, the information paper and the study