Thousands protest in Berlin over dioxin scandal
BERLIN |
BERLIN
(Reuters) - Thousands of German protesters marched in Berlin on Saturday to
demand a change in farming methods and vent their anger at a food scandal in
which cancer-causing dioxin was found in some eggs, poultry and pork.
The scandal, caused by contaminated animal
feed, has outraged consumers, triggered international health alerts and hit
sales of German eggs and meat.
Organizers said 22,000 people took part in
the demonstration, entitled "We are sick of it. No to genetic engineering,
animal factories and dumping exports." Onlookers put the turnout at close
to 10,000.
"We had such softening of environment
and animal standards in the past years, said Reinhild Benning of Germany's
Friends of the Earth. "That's a risk for consumers -- as we are seeing now
with the dioxin scandal -- and something they don't want."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her
weekly video podcast she welcomed her government's steps to close gaps in the
system of checks and safety.
The government is separating the production
of oil and fats for industrial and agricultural use, and introducing a new
licensing system. Thousands of hens have been culled.
China, South Korea and Hungary have already
announced restrictions on German meat imports following the affair that broke
on Jan 3. Russia has expressed its concern and has been holding talks with
German officials. Dioxins are poisons formed by burning waste and through other
industrial processes, which have been shown to contribute to increased cancer
rates and to affect pregnant women.
On Friday, German authorities investigating
the food scandal said they had traced the source of the dioxin to used chip fat
which had undergone industrial processing - Reuters
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