Food Association Germany e. V
Berlin (ots)
As part of the annual meeting of the German Food Association, the opposition and legal experts expressed clear criticism of the planned Children’s Food Advertising Act (KWG). Steffen Bilger, deputy CDU parliamentary group leader, called it a sham because the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) gave the impression that it only wanted to stop advertising for food aimed at children: “But whoever looks at the draft bill , who recognizes immediately: It’s about much more. It’s about large-scale advertising bans for half the shopping trolley. It’s about the state-mandated shopping list,” says Bilger, who described this as “paternalistic patronizing thinking”.
professor dr Martin Burgi, Chair of Public Law, Economic Administrative Law, Environmental and Social Law at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, spoke of an unprecedented approach by the BMEL and a dam breach: “For the first time, an advertising ban for products, their manufacture and sale should not be prohibited in any way and which as such are not dangerous to health or life, also for advertising addressed to adults. In the future, for example, advertising for air travel or certain sports could also be banned in a similar way.” Burgi complained that the current draft bill provides for massive restrictions on freedom of communication and economic freedom, but lacks the necessary scientific basis: “As long as the BMEL does not provide any reliable and comprehensible evidence that advertising bans actually lead to less obesity in children, such a massive Intervention on the basis of our constitution and European law is not possible.” Instead, the ministry would decide “out of the blue” and carry out far-reaching restrictions on freedom based on a merely perceived and as yet unproven danger. In addition, the draft law would completely ignore the protective and supportive role of parents.
In his report, which Martin Burgi prepared on behalf of the Food Association and the Central Association of the German Advertising Industry, the legal scholar not only criticizes, but also shows possible solutions for the state to tackle the diverse and scientifically proven causes of obesity without interfering with fundamental rights of third parties: “From an early age, children today spend a large part of the day in areas directly controlled by the state, such as day-care centers and schools provide sufficient sports facilities.” Only when the state has exhausted the possibilities within its own scope of action and realizes that there is a need for further action, may it intervene in the freedoms of third parties.
The report entitled “Advertising bans for food due to their sugar, fat or salt content as interference in the communication and economic constitution of the Basic Law and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union” and a short version are available for download at: available.
Food Association Germany e. V
The Food Association Germany e. V. is the leading association of the German food industry. It includes associations and companies from the entire food chain “from field to plate”, from agriculture, trade, industry, trade and gastronomy. In addition, its members also include private research laboratories, law firms and individuals.
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Food Association Germany e. V
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Manon Struck-Pacyna
Claire-Waldoff-Strasse 7, 10117 Berlin
Tel. +49 30 206143-127
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Original content by: Lebensmittelverband Deutschland e. V., transmitted by news aktuell
