Tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers are a matter of course for many people's weekly shopping - in January as well as in July.
The ones you just bought in the supermarket come from the Netherlands.
A few weeks ago, Morocco or Spain were still on the packages.
You have come a long way.
With tomatoes alone, of which Germans consume around 27 kilograms per capita - including ketchup and canned goods - according to the Federal Office for Food and Agriculture, Germany can only cover a fraction of the demand.
Since 2010, the annual harvest has increased from 73,000 to almost 107,000 tons.
Nevertheless, 80 percent of the imports came from Holland and Spain.
The rest from Belgium, Morocco, Italy, Poland, Turkey and China.
This means long transports, fuel consumption, congested roads and thus climate-damaging exhaust gases for the popular ingredient in salads, in bread rolls, on pasta or pizza.
So it seems a good idea to do the same as the Dutch and grow vegetables in large greenhouses here as well.
One such on an area of almost ten hectares is planned in Gernsheim.
The gigantic glass surfaces will hardly beautify the landscape.
And the ecological footprint for the construction is likely to be quite large.
However, modern technology should ensure efficient use of energy and water, compensation areas should serve to protect species.
And if the project is long-term, the benefit is likely to outweigh the damage.
Because anyone who deals with the production of fruit and vegetables in most other countries knows that nature suffers much greater damage there, apart from the working conditions.
In addition, the corona pandemic and its consequences have shown how important regional production is for the food supply.
And the Ukraine war requires more independence from energy-intensive supply chains.
It therefore makes sense for more tomatoes to come from local farms in the future, even in winter.