Agriculture in Germany causes high externalized costs. If consumers had to pay for this as well, many foods would be significantly more expensive.

Munich, Germany). In Germany, food from conventional agriculture is significantly cheaper than organic food. “This is only possible because consumers do not have to pay the follow-up costs of conventional agriculture for nature and the environment at the till,” explains Hubert Heigl, Chairman of the State Association for Organic Farming in Bavaria eV (LVÖ Bavaria). According to Heigl, if consumers had to pay all the costs incurred in conventional food production, prices would sometimes double.

This is also confirmed by Professor Tobias Gaugler from the TU Nuremberg and the industrial engineer Amelie Michalke from the University of Greifswald, who analyzed the actual social costs of agriculture in a research project. “They are immense. If you add them to the retail prices, a kilo of minced meat from conventional production should actually cost 18.84 euros instead of 9.18 euros, i.e. twice as expensive,” Gaugler comments on the results.

Ecological consequential costs of agriculture

For other foods, the difference is smaller, but also significant. Gouda would have to cost 12.94 euros per kilogram instead of 7.98 euros. Overall, according to the study, agriculture in Germany tries to save ecological follow-up costs of around 90 billion euros per year. The gross value added in the industry is around 21 billion euros a year.

High nitrogen consumption of conventional agriculture

The main reason for the enormous difference between the actual costs and the gross added value of conventional agriculture is the high nitrogen consumption during fertilization. Many farms use so much nitrogen that the plants in the fields only partially use it. The excess nitrogen is then converted into nitrate, which pollutes the groundwater.

In many regions of Germany, the nitrate limits in the groundwater are significantly exceeded. The water suppliers therefore have to treat the groundwater or drill into new, unpolluted groundwater flows. The resulting costs are not included in the price of conventional food and must be borne by society.