The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (, ), abbreviated BMEL, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its primary headquarters are located in Bonn with a secondary office in Berlin. From 1949 to 2001 it was known as the Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Forests (). Through an organizational order by the German Chancellor on 22 January 2001, it became the Federal Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture after the Consumer protection function was transferred from the Federal Ministry for Health (Bundesministerium für Gesundheit). The name Federal Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection was adopted on 22 November 2005 simply to alphabetize its functional parts in the German language. Due to the political restructurings of the 18th German Bundestag in December 2013 the division "Consumer Protection" was transferred to the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection. Organization The current Minister for Food and Agriculture is Cem Özdemir. The Parliamentary State Secretaries are Hans-Joachim Fuchtel and Uwe Feiler. Beate Kasch is the Permanent State Secretary. In addition to the Ministry Management (including management staff), it consists of eight departments (as of September 2020): Department 1: Central Division Department 2: Consumer health protection, nutrition, product safety Department 3: Food safety, animal health Department 4: Agricultural markets, food industry, export Department 5: Forests, sustainability, renewable raw materials Department 6: EU affairs, international cooperation, fisheries Department 7: Agricultural production, horticulture, agricultural policy Department 8: Rural development, digital innovation Agencies Under the auspices of the BMEL are various Federal agencies, legally independent institutions under public law and government research institutes: Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food Federal Office of Plant Varieties Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) Julius Kühn-Institut, Federal Research Center for Cultivated Plants Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health Max Rubner-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Nutrition and Food Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries Agency for Renewable Resources Federal Ministers See also List of Federal Ministers of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (Germany) Julius Kühn-Institut Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) References External links Website Food and Agriculture Germany Germany, Food and Agriculture 2005 establishments in Germany Germany Forestry in Germany Agricultural organisations based in Germany