Chain wants to become more animal-friendly: Aldi bans cheap meat

The discounter Aldi has announced that it will only sell fresh meat from the highest forms of husbandry from 2030. The Animal Welfare Association welcomes the move, Greenpeace speaks of a “milestone”.

Aldi wants to switch completely to the sale of meat from the highest so-called keeping forms three and four by 2030. Aldi North and South announced this together today. With this step one wants to give farmers and meat processors planning security for the conversion of the production.

The changeover is to take place in stages: this year, the two Aldi groups are initially aiming for 15 percent of sales of goods from the three and four categories of fresh meat sales. It should increase to 33 percent by 2026. Aldi wants to stop selling meat at the lowest level by 2025. The conversion should be completed by 2030.

What the types of husbandry mean

Aldi and other large grocery retailers introduced a four-stage system of husbandry labeling in 2019. It is a classification for fresh meat developed by the food industry itself. The first level, “stable housing”, only meets the legal requirements. In level 2 “stable housing plus” there is more space and additional material for the animals, among other things.

Level 3 “outside climate” guarantees the animals even more space and fresh air contact. At level 4 “Premium” you can also run outside, organic meat is also classified in this level. In addition, there are requirements for feeding, activities material for the animals and health monitoring.

So far, little meat from good husbandry conditions

Consumer and animal rights activists have repeatedly criticized the fact that there is hardly any meat at higher levels to buy. In December of last year, for example, the Hamburg consumer center published a market check. The result was that more than half of the fresh meat supply (51.1 percent), predominantly pork and beef, was labeled with level 1 husbandry.

This level corresponds to the legal minimum standard, writes the consumer advice center. From housing type 4 with the best standards, only around ten percent of the offer came.

Classification no organic seal

Consumer advocates point out that the classification in the fourth level is not an organic meat seal. The meat can also be produced conventionally, writes the consumer advice center. The four-level labeling of the trade is also not an animal welfare label and will not ensure more animal welfare in the stables across the board.

In the opinion of the consumer advice center, behavior and health-related parameters such as lameness, bite injuries and organ findings in animal husbandry and at the slaughterhouse must be systematically collected and evaluated for reliable statements on animal welfare.

Praise from the Animal Welfare Association

The German Animal Welfare Association nevertheless welcomed the Aldi announcement. It will now be decisive that other retail companies follow this step by Aldi. The environmental protection organization Greenpeace also praised the decision. It is a “direct hit” and an “ambitious plan”. He shows the entire industry the way.

Other chains would have to follow suit, based on the clearly communicated step-by-step plan, farmers also received the necessary planning security for a gradual change, according to Greenpeace. At the same time, Aldi’s offensive reveals the “failings of politics”. Housing types three and four should quickly be made the legal standard.

The Green politician Renate Künast assessed the announcement as evidence of the inactivity of Federal Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner (CDU) and the Union’s agricultural policy. These would be “overtaken” again by the food trade, explained the former Federal Environment Minister. The CDU and CSU refused to accept reality instead of working with the farmers to develop new perspectives. Aldi’s plan is “more than clear finger time,” said Künast.