Meat factories booming - Environmental standards sinking

The production of pork in the EU is increasing rapidly. But while 21,3 million tons are being produced, only 19,7 million tons are being consumed. This translates into an overproduction of almost 10 percent. In order to export this, there are about 200 million Euros in export subsidies for pork in the EU budget. This expresses and proves the power of the Agro-lobby in Brussels and Berlin. The globalised pig is the main victim of the Agro lobby's attempts to dominate the world market. It is held in huge industrial barns that often house over 10,000 pigs without daylight or fresh air. Antibiotics and additives make sure that the animals don't die early. They eat feed that was bought on the global market; a lot of this is genetically modified soy and corn, even though 80 percent of consumers in Europe are against genetic engineering in food. At the same time the soy fields are eating further and further into the rain forest and other fertile areas. Often the local people are displaced and reduced to total poverty. While Europe is exporting more and more pork, the manure stays here. Our rivers, lakes and coastal waters already contain too much manure. Factory farming is the main cause of forest damage, but the Agro-lobby in Brussels and Berlin is still systematically working to get rid of the obstructive environmental standards that hinder them from extending their profits from pigs. The German Farmers Association and the operators of slaughter houses, who are often the exporters, are a driving force behind this. On the other hand, farmers in Europe are giving up pig keeping. Recently, the Òslave workers scandalÓ showed that not only animals and the environment have to suffer for cheap meat on the discount shelves or in burgers, but working conditions also. The industry giant Tšnnies employed east-European slaughter house workers for starvation wages under extremely exploitative conditions. Even though some of the people responsible for this were convicted, the fines were so low that they had little impact.

Growing or Going

The average figure of pigs per owner in Germany has more than doubled between 1992 and 2003. In 1992, there were 90 pigs per owner on average; ten years later it was already more than 250. At the same time the number of farms keeping pigs declined by 65% from more than 290,000 to almost 100,000. Apparently the growth of animal stock and the disappearance of small farms has progressed rapidly among pig farmers. Between 2003 and mid-2005, farmers in Germany applied and/or were granted to keep more than 1,45 million new pigs. We can expect that we will reach a historic high in pig keeping in the next few years with 28 million animals being held.
ÒManure-TsunamiÓ coming

The planned establishments are concentrated in the Weser-Ems area in north-west Germany. More than half of the additional requested and partially granted establishments will be built there. In the last ten years this area saw a growth of 15% in pig stocks, which led to a corresponding increase in manure and animal feed. The problems with nitrate surpluses in this region will become more acute over the next years.
In the eastern states Sachsen-Anhalt and Brandenburg, there are plans for pig farms with a capacity of 75,000 to 95,000 pigs. Such Òmega barnsÓ are in different stages of planning in Mahlwinkel, Zerbst, and Hassleben with each more than 80,000 pigs. The biggest establishment is planned in Allstedt with 95,000 pigs. Furthermore one establishment with 75,000 pigs is planned in Goldbeck. In Sandbeiendorf, Nordhausen and in Vetschau farms are already operating with 60,000 to 65,000 pigs. Such big pig farms are accompanied by a manure disposal problem. Because of a lack of standards for the licensing agencies, there is continuous and systematic over-manuring in the vicinity of these pig farms. People are talking about a Òmanure tsunamiÓ in the afflicted areas. Overall the nitrogen surplus on agricultural fields stagnates on a high level and thereby continuously leads to nitrate forming and nitrate contamination of the ground water in all of Germany.
Low Environmental Standards Attracting Pig Farmers to Germany

Smaller conventional pig farms increasingly follow the same principals as their industrialized counterparts regarding feed import and manure export and therefore cannot be automatically viewed as being better. Nonetheless, farms owning their own land can go organic at any time. Therefore in Denmark it is mandatory that the land being manured is in possession of the pig farmer. These standards were necessary when Denmark developed into the biggest pork exporter with heavily over-manured fields. But in Germany there is no obligation for pig farmers to possess land. Apparently in the Netherlands it is well known that it is a lot cheaper to dispose of manure in Germany than in other EU-countries. Some Dutch pork producers have therefore sold their pigs and manuring rights, which can be traded in the Netherlands, and are building much bigger establishments in Germany.
The Power of Slaughtering Corporations

In 2006, three slaughtering corporations (Vion, Tšnnies, Weltfleisch) controlled more than 60 percent of the market in Germany. This concentration in the slaughtering industry means more power for the corporations. The quality requirements change a lot. A farmer often does not get to know for months whether or not he delivered the adequate quality of meat. In that way in 2006 maximum prices of 1,75 Euro per kg slaughtering weight were observed, but that does not mean that farmers actually received this maximum price. Although the slaughterhouses are not working to full capacity, their capacities are currently being increased. They are counting on exports. There is great demand for pork in countries like Russia, Japan and China. But the example of Brazilian meat exports shows how fast such an export market can collapse: After the outbreak of the foot and mouth disease in some regions of Brazil, many countries stopped importing Brazilian pork. The brand new industrial pig farms were stuck with their meat.
The concentration on the side of the slaughtering houses is being met with various strategies on the side of the producers. Companies with huge pig farms that can produce cheaply, seek out the slaughterhouse that currently pays the best price. More than 70 percent of the pig farms in Germany have less than 100 pigs. Many of them create producer collectives in order to be able to compete with the big players.