The notion of a national ravioli reserve has drawn light-hearted headlines across German media, but the debate highlights how war affects nearly every element of life.
Tanks? In production. Missiles? On order. Ravioli? Still cooking them up.
Germany is preparing for a war it hopes never to fight.
In the face of Russian aggression, the German Government has pledged to make the country kriegstüchtig - fit for war - by 2029, the year officials believe Russia could be ready to strike a Nato member.
The first step was overhauling spending and debt rules to allow more money to flow to military needs.
The country is also working to build up defence manufacturing and embarking on a major military recruitment drive that will likely include reinstating a form of compulsory service.
Next up on the list: a strategic ravioli reserve.
Germany’s agriculture and food minister is calling for a rethink of national stockpiles by including more ready-to-eat meals.
His plan: Create a “national reserve of ready-made products that can be consumed immediately after heating”, such as canned ravioli and canned lentils.
“We are currently in a security situation that makes us all think,” the minister, Alois Rainer, said on Politico’s Berlin Playbook podcast.
“For me, it is important that, in addition to the supply of military equipment, food security also plays a major role.”
For decades, Germany’s emergency reserves have consisted mainly of unprocessed staples like grains and dried lentils. Rainer thinks these take too long to prepare in a crisis.
His proposal would cost up to US$105 million ($178m) and rely on major food chains to manage logistics and storage. The Food and Agriculture Ministry did not respond to a request for further comment.
Rainer emphasised that the stockpile is needed not just in the event of war, but also for other crises, such as natural disasters or a nuclear accident at a power plant.
Still, it’s the threat of a Russian attack on Europe that is top of mind for policymakers and the German public.
The notion of a national ravioli reserve has drawn light-hearted headlines across German media. But it also underscores the serious peril confronting European security at the moment.
In the 80 years since World War II, Germany has largely adopted a pacifist stance. Now, the looming risk of war - and fear that the United States might not jump to Europe’s defence - is causing a societal rethink from top to bottom.
Most attention has focused on rearmament and military readiness, but the ravioli debate highlights how war affects nearly every element of life - a sobering reality illustrated daily in Ukraine - and how little time there is to get prepared.
“Our thinking has changed, so that when you talk about defence capability, you shouldn’t just consider the military side,” said Florian Weber, head of operations at the Technisches Hilfswerk, Germany’s federal civil protection organisation, which co-ordinates technical emergency and disaster relief.
“It’s also very much about protecting the population,” Weber said. “Because I believe the example of the war in Ukraine shows that while military capabilities are very important, it’s also crucial for the state to signal that civil protection can still provide the population with basic services.”
The idea of revamping food stockpiles has drawn praise, but sceptics also warn of hurdles, from limited shelf life to the logistical and financial burden of regular replenishment.
National stockpiles are nothing new, having existed in Germany since the 1960s, but they often went unnoticed, or unappreciated.
When the interior minister at the time, Thomas de Maiziere, advised Germans in 2016 to maintain an emergency supply of food and water at home, he was widely mocked for buying into the “prepper” mentality associated with American survivalists or fringe groups.
Critics accused him of fearmongering following a number of terrorist attacks in Europe, prompting headlines of Germans “hamstering” away food.
A pandemic later, with memories of toilet paper and pasta shortages still fresh, that kind of guidance is heeded differently today.
A German government guide currently urges households to store at least a three-day supply of food, and ideally enough for up to 10 days - as well as basic medicines, candles, a battery-powered radio and other essentials.
As Germany considers adding canned ravioli to its emergency essentials, European neighbours have their own priorities.
In Switzerland, for example, a 2019 proposal by the Swiss Federal Council to completely do away with the country’s mandatory coffee stockpile was met with such widespread opposition that the idea was abandoned.
Norway advises keeping on hand iodine tablets to protect against radiation in case of nuclear emergencies, as well as playing cards and board games to pass the time.
Food and other supplies, however, are only part of the challenge.
Earlier in the northern summer, Germany’s top civil protection official said the country must urgently expand its network of shelters.
Of 2000 bunkers from the Cold War era, only 579 remain, with space for just 478,000 people - or 0.5% of the 83.5 million population.
Finland, by contrast, maintains some 50,000 shelters, enough for 85% of its 5.6 million people.
“For a long time, there was a widespread belief in Germany that war was not a scenario for which we needed to prepare,” Ralph Tiesler, head of Germany’s Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, told the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. “That has changed.”
Tiesler’s office wants to repurpose subway stations, basements, and underground garages into shelters, a spokesperson told the Washington Post. A digital directory of shelters is also being compiled for an app.
Officials are urging citizens to do their part.
“Build up enough supplies to last you for 10 days if possible,” Tiesler told Suddeutsche Zeitung.
“Even a supply for at least 72 hours is very helpful.”
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