In addition to the enormous increase in electricity and gas prices, the price explosion has long been noticeable in food, with an average increase of 22.3 percent compared to the previous year. But now these could soon become scarce for another reason: the lack of CO2. In many areas of food production, carbon dioxide is used, among other things, for preserving fresh produce, pouring drinks in the catering industry and much more.
As Telepolis reports, as a result of the gas crisis, only about 30 to 40 percent of the required carbon dioxide is available on the market. However, the existing quantities can only be obtained at enormous prices, which is why the first breweries have had to stop production – because without carbon dioxide, there is no beer, no sparkling water and no lemonade.
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Carbon dioxide is also used in the meat industry to stun animals for slaughter. Accordingly, the Association of the Meat Industry has already warned of supply bottlenecks. The lack of CO2 also leads to problems with the shelf life of products such as cheese, sausage or pre-baked rolls, since carbon dioxide displaces oxygen and ensures that food goes moldy much later. In addition, vegetable farmers are also dependent on the greenhouse gas, which allows fruit and vegetables to ripen faster in greenhouses.
Hubert Aiwanger, Bavaria’s Economics Minister, is now calling on the federal government to act quickly. He recently suggested using the carbon dioxide from cement works for food production. Since hundreds of thousands of tons of CO2 are released into the air through chimneys in Bavaria alone, it should now be examined how the gas can be made usable.
Because meat eaters leave too high a climate footprint, the largest animal welfare organization PETA is calling for a “sex ban for all meat-eating men”.
One of the biggest money launderers in Europe has now been arrested in Spain along with his wife and other accomplices.
The original for this article “Cheese, yoghurt and beer shortages feared” comes from chip.de.
