Germany has decided that (if it arrives) the war will not catch it off guard, so it wants add more soldiers to his army and even has been interested again in World War II bunkers. To the elderly of all that, the Foreign Ministry has proposed that neither war nor any other national emergency, such as natural disasters or accidents, will make their population go hungry.
Hence Raviolis wants, Many Raviolis.
What happened? That Germany wants to be prepared in case of war. And in his government that preparation goes through more than strengthen Your military spending, Journal to his old bunkers, Aleccate to its population or recover (Significantly) the old mili, a service that Berlin said goodbye in 2011 and that has now reactivated voluntarily before the threat of Russia. In addition to all that, Friedrich Merz’s Foreign Ministry wants Improve the reservation Food emergency. The objective: that if things are complicated, nobody is hungry.
But are there reservations, right? That’s how it is. Strategic food reserves are nothing new. Nor exclusive from Germany. Nor are they created thinking only of war scenarios, natural disasters or accidents. We recently saw how Japan I looked hand of his national rice deposit to cut the grain price climb and Poland has made Something similar With butter.
In Germany the authorities store food, especially cereals, lentils and powdered milk, For decades. The Times Calculate That every year 25 million euros are spent on maintaining a reserve of around 100,000 tons of provisions, including rice and legumes, guarded in 150 deposits whose location remains secret. The country also has a reserve of 700,000 T of wheat, rye and barley preservations near large mills.
What is the news then? That the German authorities have asked themselves an interesting question: does it make sense that the provisions of 2025 are the same as those of the 70s or 80s? After all, rice, wheat, rye or lentil grains are raw foods that must be made before consuming them.
In an interview with El Podcast ‘Berlin Playbook Podcast’Agricultural Minister Alois Rainer (CSU) slid That perhaps it is time for Germany to rethink its reserves and complement the bags of barley and wheat with something that we are all much more familiar: precooked cans that can be consumed just by putting it in a microwave or using a stove.
What exactly has he said? “We are currently in a security situation that forces us all to reflect. For me it is important that food security plays a key role together with the armament supply,” advocated the minister. “I want to create a national reserve of elaborate products that can be consumed more to heat them.” Rainer even went further and He threw himself To cite two concrete examples of what it has in mind: “It is for example of canned raviolis, canned lentils or other products.”
Is it just an idea? It does not seem. The person in charge of Agriculture was not limited to launching vague or abstract ideas in the air. During the interview, extra data that suggests that, at least, the Executive has made accounts of what change for the reserve of emergency foods. According to your calculations, you would demand Between 80 and 90 million. As for logistics, Rainer acknowledged that it would be necessary to have the industry to get the idea forward. “My proposal would be to involve the private sector, the large food chains. They have the necessary supply chains and the storage capacity.”
“We are currently in a security situation that makes us reflect to everyone,” Rainer insisted. “For me it is important that, in addition to the supply of military equipment, food security also plays a fundamental role.” Although the German executive He said recently That, in his opinion, “Russia is and will continue to be the greatest threat to freedom, square and stability in Europe”, Rainer recalled that the reserves are not only used in case of war: it is useful of it to face disasters or accidents.
Why is it important? Because Rainer’s words, government plans to rethink their food reserve giving a greater prominence to canned raviolis, arrives in a very concrete context. Germany arises triple your expense In defense until reaching 3.5% of GDP in 2029, an investment effort that for Foreign Minister Merz does not respond to US pressures in NATO, but because of the “active and aggressive” threat that Kremlin represents today.
With that backdow 260,000 soldiers active for the beginning of the next decade. Now it has 183,000.
Images | Nicolas Cuestas (UNSPLASH), Commons and Henry Perks (UNSPLASH)
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