Figure 1: Development of the material footprint for agricultural biomass by crop category and harvest in Germany (line "Total domestic withdrawal").

The results for the evolution of Germany’s agri-material footprint show

• That the material footprint by far exceeds the mass of domestically harvested crops (green line).
• Over the last two decades the footprint increased by about 50 million tons. Major driver was the increased use of fodder and energy crops.
• Most of the footprint accounts for biomass for the feed of livestock and therefor is related to the consumption of meat and dairy products.
• Provided that the use of (primary) energy crops does not further expand and dietary patterns continue to transform in moderate way, a slight decline of footprint is to be expected for coming years.