Protestors in Berlin, Germany glued themselves to a main roadway Monday morning, demanding legislation against food waste and cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural industry. Their protest caused major traffic jams in the capital and followed actions held throughout Germany last week. More than 20 activists organised by the group “Last Generation” took part in the protest, and several glued themselves to the road, Reuters reported. Photos of the event showed a standoff between protestors and vehicles.
Protests across Germany
Letzte Generation, or “Last Generation,” the organisers of the event, placed food that had been discarded along the A100 roadway as part of their protest. According to a statement from the activist group, there are more protests planned throughout Germany.
After several food waste protests that occurred last week, there were more than 50 activists in custody, Reuters reported.
Food-saving law
The food-saving law that Last Generation is advocating for includes mandating that large supermarket chains “make available food that is still edible” instead of throwing it away. The group says the German government is not taking enough action to stop food waste, lower emissions, and protect future generations.
“By 2030, we will exceed 1.5 degrees (average rise in global temperatures). The government is not only breaking international law but committing a crime against humanity by deliberately heading for a world hotter by 2, 3, 4 degrees with billions dying of hunger,” Carla Hindrichs, one of the Last Generation activists, said in a statement provided to Reuters.
Social media backlash
Hindrichs tweeted in German on Monday, “#A100 becomes the place of civil #resistance! We appeal to the government: issue a #foodsavinglaw and end this disruption! #doyourjob.” Other tweets from protestors and bystanders include videos of protestors sitting on the road and then being dragged by angry motorists trying to stop the blockade.
Food waste worldwide
Food waste accounts for about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. An estimated billion tons of food, which is almost 20% of all food, is discarded yearly, while some 820 million people go hungry.
Food waste is also a waste of energy. Consider the fuel and water used to grow and harvest crops, transport those crops, and then process and package those crops as food items. When the unused food is thrown away to rot, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more planet-warming than carbon.
2021 hunger strikes for climate
These recent protests are not the first major actions organised by Last Generation. In 2021, the group staged a hunger strike to call for better climate action from Germany’s politicians.
“We are quite simply in despair, otherwise we wouldn’t be doing this,” said protestor Lina Eichler in September 2021, according to The Guardian. “But what we’re doing here is not nearly as bad as what we can expect to befall us if we don’t act now.”