At the Frauenkirche in Dresden, farmers protested for improvements to the EU's planned free trade agreement with four South American Mercosur states. "We are not against the agreement," said Robert Erdmann, spokesman for the Land schafft Verbindung (LSV) Saxony association. However, it must be renegotiated.
Criticism of standards and origin labeling
The farmers demanded a mandatory designation of origin, for example. When the consumer stands in front of Argentinian beef steak, for example, it must be clear that it was produced to unequal standards, said Erdmann. In South America, pesticides are also used "that have rightly been banned here for 20 years".
"If we want to safeguard our regional domestic production in the coming years and decades, we need to send out a very clear signal here," added Marc Bernhardt from LSV Sachsen. Regional products must have priority and be protected against cheap imports.
Farmers protested at highway junctions in further actions in several federal states. There were also protests in France.
