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To offer customers the option of buying cheap meat, producers are often willing to sacrifice the animals’ well-being, keeping them locked up in tight places and mixing antibiotics into their food regularly. In 2019, many of the large supermarket chains in Germany such as Aldi, Lidl, Netto, Penny, Rewe and Edeka agreed to participate in the “Initiative Tierwohl” as a response to these issues. It is an organization to ensure animal well-being and raise awareness about the way meat is produced.
A part of this initiative is the “Tierhaltungsform” label, which shows customers under which conditions the animals, from which the meat stems, lived. It does this by separating the “Tierhaltungsform” (animal husbandry) into four different categories. These categories are indicated by a label on the front of the packaging, assigning different numbers and colors to the different categories.
The first category is what the Germans call “Stallhaltung”, stable housing in English. It is indicated in red and with the number one. Stable housing is the lowest category, describing the legal minimum standards for space and materials for keeping farm animals, such as chickens, turkeys, cows and pigs. For example, twenty-six chickens can share one square meter. Any conditions worse than this are considered illegal. This category is usually the cheapest, but keep in mind that even though it describes the legal minimum standards, these conditions are still less than ideal.
Next is “StallhaltungPlus” (stable housing plus), which is indicated in blue and with the number two. This describes the legal minimum standards with some (often minor) improvements, including straw foods for poultry and additional organic food for pigs. Besides that, cows are not allowed to be tied up, and only twenty-three chickens are allowed to share one square meter.
The third category is “Außenklima” (outside climate) and is indicated in orange with the number three. Outside climate does not mean that the animals were kept outside, though. This might be the case sometimes, which is usually additionally indicated by the word “Freilandhaltung,” but to qualify for this category, it is sufficient to have open windows or doors in the stables. Additionally, farmers are not allowed to feed their animals genetically altered food if they want their meat products to be labeled as a category three.
Lastly, the best category is “Premium,” labeled in green with the number four. This category equals the standards for the EU-Bio-Siegel (EU label for organic meat products). The animals the meat in this category comes from were kept outside with sufficient space and were fed appropriate food without unnecessary medications. “Premium” is the most expensive meat category, but in regard to animal well-being, it is definitely worth it.
