Supermarkets show little progress in the conversion to meat from better husbandry. 86 percent of the products come predominantly from the husbandry forms 1 and 2, a survey by Greenpeace has shown.

The conversion of food retailers to meat from better forms of husbandry is making little progress, according to Greenpeace. The share of meat from husbandry forms 1 and 2 is currently 86 percent, the environmental organization reported. It had surveyed the supermarket chains Aldi Nord, Aldi Süd, Edeka, Kaufland, Lidl, Netto, Penny and Rewe.

Husbandry system 1 dominates beef market

The husbandry form is a voluntary labeling system that a large proportion of German food retailers have been using for private label fresh meat products since 2019.Meat from husbandry forms 1 and 2 comes from animals kept indoors. In husbandry form 3, animals have access to an outdoor climate area or an outdoor run. Farming method 4 means that the animals have access to open-air runs at least some of the time.In the self-service sector, food retailers now label their fresh meat products with the farming method almost across the board, according to their own information.Greenpeace criticized the fact that farming method 1 still dominates the market for beef, accounting for 76 percent. However, the largest organic share of 14 percent is also found here.

Metro and Norma without labeling for meat products

The companies Metro and Norma did not answer the questionnaire and they do not label their meat products either, according to Greenpeace. "The wholesaler Metro has broad market power and must also finally start labeling its products according to the type of husbandry with the mandatory husbandry labeling," demanded Greenpeace agriculture expert Christiane Huxdorff. "The market could have moved much faster in recent years if the entire trade had pulled together from the start." Huxdorff also called on retailers to "consistently" push for the expansion of better husbandry practices instead of "waiting for the tough political implementation of labeling. "The German government has launched a government animal husbandry label that will initially apply to fresh pork starting next year. Later, it is to be extended to other animal species and other areas such as catering and the entire life cycle of the animals.The label provides for five levels of husbandry: "stable," "stable+place," "fresh air stable," "run/pasture" and "organic." Consumer advocates have called for the government label to replace voluntary labeling in stores to avoid confusion.