The short life of a broiler chicken can be awful, before it ends up in the freezer of a trader. And that can also have dire consequences for the people. The environmental organisation Germanwatch was purchased in August and September at the disco, Aldi Nord and Lidl in five European countries, supermarkets chicken meat. The Institute for Medical Microbiology, University of Bochum, went on to examine samples of it and found out: More than half of the samples were contaminated with antibiotic-resistant germs.
As the ZDF magazine “Frontal 21” reported last Tuesday, was discovered by the microbiologists in 25 percent of the packages of Meat in Germany and Poland, even for people dangerous Hospital pathogen, MRSA. MRSA is according to the researchers, a hard-to-therapy render the germ that can cause painful health problems such as wound infections or pneumonia.
Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd are now, the worst Form of broiler chicken breeding to finish until 2026 to. As the Süddeutsche Zeitung learned, want Aldi to give this Monday as the first major food retailer in Germany to support the European broiler chicken Initiative, “to improve the welfare conditions of broiler chickens significantly”. The broiler chicken Initiative has been developed from nearly 30 European animal protection organisations and is a self-commitment for animal welfare.
Currently, it is the activists, according to the animal yet: A broiler chicken is divided, on average, with 25 other broiler chickens have a space of one square meter. For lighting or fresh air is hardly taken care of. It is almost exclusively fast-growing breeds to be bred. The animals grow so fast that their bones break under the weight. During the fattening period, from an average of 39 days to ten days of an antibiotic administered. The killing is carried out upside-down part in the electric water bath, which means Stress for the animals. According to the Albert Schweitzer Foundation, a member of the Initiative, originate almost all commercially available chickens from the farms.
Anesthesia before the death
The European broiler chicken Initiative provides for an improved form of keeping in some respects. Slower-growing chickens are not supposed to be breeds which have a little more space available, this is based on the number of animals, but according to Kilo, namely 30 instead of 39 kilos per square meter. The air and lighting should meet minimum standards. And the animals should receive the seat rods can pick and before the killing be drugged.
About 350 companies, including Dr. Oetker, Danone, Iglo, Nestlé and Unilever, have joined the Initiative. Mahi monastery helped, President of the Albert Schweitzer Foundation, relies on Aldi great hope: “The competition looks very strong on what Aldi is doing,” he says. “If Aldi join now, this is the breakthrough and the Signal that there is no way back. So, suppliers like Wiesenhof have to follow suit.” Wiesenhof is one of the largest suppliers of Aldi. Animal rights activists, according to the company, the Initiative should be to hesitant to negative. On a request Wiesenhof answered first.
30 kilos per square meter is considered as a progress.
(Photo by: Jens Büttner/dpa)
According to Aldi were held with the suppliers since the beginning of the Initiative in 2016, talks: “The changes that go hand in hand with our Commitment to provide all stakeholders a major challenge, as this is a series of profound changes has to be enacted.” The changes affect the whole supply chain from the farmers to the slaughterhouse. Some of the criteria Aldi fulfilled today, the group, including the CO₂-Stun slaughter for fresh meat, or the requirements for a stable climate.
Torment over breeding, but no species-appropriate keeping
The monastery helped hopes that Aldis power thrust, due to the market of the company, a similar effect as a few years ago, at the time of egg-marking. Aldi was the first major food retailer, and urged it, in the worst shape, the battery should be abolished. Eggs from caged hens had disappeared since, almost out of the trade. The monastery helped files the hoped-for impact in the case of the broiler chickens in a similar way: “only the agony is over breeding, but still a long way from welfare achieved,” he says.
Aldi with his advance, when it is actually implemented as intended in the case of fresh meat and frozen natural chicken products, however, a certain degree of risk. The prices for chicken meat could rise at Aldi, and higher than competitors are. Many consumers respond to prices very sensitive. Aldi replied: “Whether and to what extent the transition is reflected in the prices, we cannot say at the present time, as the price of many different factors.” The customers could continue to rely on “high-quality products at an attractive price-performance ratio”.
Erik Döbele, managing Director of Central purchasing at Aldi Süd, acknowledged, however: “We have not made this decision really easy, but it is the Right one and we will not stop and keep looking, where we can do our part for animal welfare make. For this purpose, we need the support of the policy and of all the competitors in the Market. And farmers to implement animal welfare need to be rewarded for this extra effort.” Only if all Döbele with touched, so, could not be reached for more animal welfare in width.
More welfare, more people probably
The Albert-Schweitzer-Stiftung is ready to support Aldi, if the discounters should fall because of his run-up to, or higher prices under pressure: “We will do everything that it would come to this,” says the monastery helped. “We are going to bomb from now on the rest of the food retail sector with phone calls and e-Mails, and maybe even the campaign cudgel, so that in the next few months, all to join in.” In France, for example, all the big food would have to pull dealer.
A Problem is the control is, of course. Dr. Oetker is about to be so, that the food manufacturer, the Initiative joined two years ago, although, since then, but not very much happens to be. The Initiative is designed to Assen, therefore, seem in the organization in the context of an audit soon once again.
For the consumers, nothing will change before 2026, but is not. “It’s not about faster, it hurts us animal rights activists in the soul,” says the monastery helped. “But we want to change a whole industry in Europe and takes just a couple of years.”
According to estimates by the European center for disease control in 2019, died in Europe up to 33 000 people by multi-resistant germs, far more than in previous years. Of course, not all infected chickens. But the better it goes, the chickens, the fewer antibiotics you, the Albert need-Schweitzer-Stiftung, and the less is the danger for the people. More animal welfare in this respect, more and more People.