Thousands take to Berlin streets to protest against TTIP agreement

Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the German capital of Berlin on Saturday, calling on the government to reject the planned Trans-Atlantic Trade Agreement (TTIP).

The spokesman for the alliance of more than 120 environmental, consumer and development organisations said that the planned free-trade agreement between the European Union and the USA would destroy the livelihood of many farmers.

“The TTIP only serves global concerns, and will take away the means of existence from many farms here and across the world,” Joachen Fritz said, while adding that the TTIP would also jeopardize consumer standards.

The EU and the USA have been holding negotiations on the TTIP since 2013. Its advocates argue that a free-trade zone will provide a huge boost to both economies, but critics in Europe fear it will lead to a drop in consumer protection and food safety standards.

Fritz also criticised German agricultural policies, saying that they had forced over three quarters of German pig farmers to give up their trades since 2000, as large meat companies are increasingly swallowing up livestock farming.

Protest organisers said that around 50,000 people attended the rally, while police estimated that around 25,000 people attend the “peaceful” protest. The demonstration was timed to coincide with International Green Week, a large agriculture fair in Berlin.

Marching under the motto “We are sick of agribusiness”, protestors called for the introduction of a global right to food, legal restrictions to protect food and agriculture from genetic engineering.

In a closing speech, the chairman of Friends of the Earth Germany said that years of protest against agricultural policies were gradually leaving an effect.

“Thanks to some 250 citizens’ initiatives across the country, more than 100 giant stalls have not been built,” Hubert Weiger said.