"The nanny state should focus on something more substantive," former Minister of Finance Maris Lauri (Reform) stated on social media. She was prompted to write by a draft regulation from her colleague in Estonia's ruling coalition, Minister of Agriculture Piret Hartman (SDE), which would require food establishments to disclose the origin of the meat they serve to customers.

Minister of Economic Affairs Erkki Keldo (Reform) agreed with Lauri. "Creating artificial rules does nothing for the consumer. It is absurd and imposes an additional administrative burden on businesses," he declared in a press release.

Restaurant owners also share concerns about the administrative burden Keldo mentioned. However, some business owners strongly support the new plan.

"It is very important for consumers to know where their food comes from because it helps them make more informed choices," emphasized Kerli Ats, head of the Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce.

"We have to take action," said Anu Hellenurme, head of the Estonian Pig Breeding Association. "We need to think about tomorrow and even further ahead. We must work together to establish supply chains built on domestic raw materials."

Lean times slash consumption of Estonian pork

The concerns of livestock farmers are backed by serious statistics. While in 2021, every second pig raised in Estonia was consumed domestically, by the year before last, 71 percent of Estonia's pork was exported abroad.

It is true that pork consumption in Estonia also declined by about 7 percent. However, imports increased at the same time. By 2023, 77 percent of the pork consumed in Estonia came from abroad. Kerli Ats acknowledged that local meat is often more expensive.

"We understand that consumers, in their attitudes, want to prefer domestic products, but in the end, they are forced to choose based on price," Ats said. "However, an approach that provides consumers with very clear knowledge of where their food comes from supports the idea that they can make choices based on different values, not just price."

Anu Hellenurme also believes that providing people with more information will lead to changes in their consumption habits.

"Pork from Spain may cost less, but at what price?" Hellenurme asked. "It contains more antibiotics and the production methods are more intensive. Is that what we want on our families' dinner tables?"

Kerli Ats emphasized that consumers also bear responsibility for the well-being of domestic food production. Hellenurme spoke of a societal agreement. "In Finland, this works very well," she said. "When you buy a certain label, you are also supporting Finnish agriculture, the Finnish economy and industry."

Taigo Lepik, head chef at the restaurant Härg, said on Tuesday's "Aktuaalne kaamera" news program that all food service staff are trained and know by heart where their ingredients come from. However, Kerli Ats stated that she has personally asked servers about the origin of the meat. "Very often, the server is unable to answer these questions," Ats said.

Thus, both Ats and Hellenurme believe that the origin of meat should be physically written out for customers.

Committee chair: There are more effective ways of boosting domestic production

Chairman of the Riigikogu Rural Affairs Committee Urmas Kruuse holds a different view. Like his party colleagues Erkki Keldo and Maris Lauri, he is concerned about the increasing administrative burden and believes that the measure proposed by Hartman is ineffective. "This is pointless and unnecessary bureaucracy," Kruuse said.

The politician emphasized that he also supports the idea of promoting domestic meat consumption. However, in his view, there are more effective ways to achieve this.

"For example, if pig farmers establish their own quality certification programs and the state incorporates them into public procurement processes — so that when schools, kindergartens or military units source their food, they are required to use meat that meets these quality standards," Kruuse suggested. "This would provide a necessary, reasonable and logical way to increase domestic meat consumption."

Hartman: Those referencing the coalition agreement would do well to cut down on demagogy

Minister of Regional and Rural Affairs Piret Hartman stated in a letter sent to ERR that the proposed regulatory change would give people the opportunity to choose Estonian food. "However, I suspect that our minister of economic affairs and industry does not share this view," Hartman wrote, referring to Keldo's criticism on Tuesday. "Agriculture is an important part of Estonia's economy — agriculture and food production, for example, account for 10 percent of exports," she added.

According to Hartman, Estonia has had a very positive experience with the swallow label and the small blue-black-and-white flags, which also encourage consumers to choose locally produced food. "Why should it be any different for restaurants?" she asked.

The minister pointed out that if local food is not purchased, it will not become more affordable. She also warned that without domestic food production, food security could become uncertain.

"Anyone citing the coalition agreement should be less demagogic and refer to it in full," Hartman added. "It also includes a clause stating that one of the coalition's goals is to promote local food — an objective that this proposed change would certainly support."

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