Growing strawberries requires a lot of water. In the Doñana National Park in southern Spain, however, the groundwater level is steadily declining. That gets environmentalists on the scene.
Despite criticism, German discounters continue to rely on strawberries from the region around the southern Spanish national park Doñana, which is threatened by drought. Both Lidl and Aldi Nord cited water conservation efforts in the region on Friday. They want to continue working with local suppliers. The organizations Foodwatch and Campact had previously asked German supermarkets not to sell strawberries from the region and referred to the high water consumption for cultivation.
In the Doñana National Park, founded in 1969, which, together with an area protected as a nature park and a buffer zone, is about half the size of Saarland, the groundwater level has been falling for years, as environmentalists complain. Legal and illegal wells, which are used to divert large amounts of water for fruit and vegetable plantations, also contribute to this. A bill intended to legalize illegal irrigation systems will soon be voted on in the Andalusian parliament.
In order to put pressure on the regional government on the matter, Campact and Foodwatch are now demanding that the large German grocers stop selling. Rewe and Edeka did not comment on request.
Source: Stern
