For “more fields and less concrete,” Greenpeace activists climbed onto a granary in Engelhartstetten, Lower Austria, and unfurled a 72-square-meter banner. Your message is addressed to the next government. The environmental protection organization is calling for a ban on the development of high-quality agricultural land in the future.
Greenpeace calls on the new government to halt the development of high-quality agricultural land. “Our initiative ‘Austria’s 9 Concrete Treasures’ has shown: High-quality agricultural land is used and sealed for more than half of the final concrete projects,” criticizes Melanie Ebner, Greenpeace soil protection expert.
“Soon we will no longer have space to grow food”
In Tyrol, for example, the industrial area of St. Johann was declared a concrete winner. For this purpose, fertile areas that are intended exclusively for domestic food production are to be destroyed – so-called agricultural precautionary areas. “If we continue to concrete fertile soil unchecked, we will soon lack the space to produce healthy, local food.”
In Austria, 11.2 hectares of land are still used every day, much of which is sealed with concrete and asphalt. At the beginning of this year, Greenpeace calculated that around 4,300 hectares will be lost to agricultural use by 2024. “It is irresponsible that the ÖVP-led Ministry of Agriculture has allowed fields, meadows and pastures to be built on and sealed off unhindered over the past decades. “This is endangering our local food production,” says Ebner. Greenpeace is demanding a rethink from the next government.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
