News Pigs
ISN: German pork at the front of the store
The German pig farmers' association ISN demands that German pork be given priority on the shelves of supermarkets in Germany. The organizations denounce the stunting of supermarket chains with foreign pork and speak of 'a hard slap in the face of local pig farmers'.
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Just like pig farmers in the Netherlands, German pig farming is also suffering greatly from the current poor market conditions. In addition, due to the presence of African swine fever on the Polish border, Germany also has to deal with trade blockades to major customer China, for example. Under these conditions, the behavior of some supers acts like a red rag to a bull for the ISN.
For example, the German supermarket chains Edeka and Metro recently openly promoted pork products from Spain and even Chile. The German origin and local norms do not seem to matter in these types of actions, the ISN notes. “It doesn't matter how and where it is produced, the most important thing is that it is cheap.”
The last percentage points are decisive
The organization has therefore denounced this approach to the supermarket chains in question. A response came from Edeka that the supermarket chain indicates that 90% of their meat products come from Germany. "That is of course good, but it is precisely the last percentage points that are decisive and put pressure on the market. Responsible behavior certainly looks different," reports ISN.
ISN therefore demands that supermarket chains always give priority to German pork on their shelves. "Cheap offers from other countries must immediately disappear from the entire German food chain, without ifs or buts." The organization also insists that the same conditions and standards must apply to all pork products, regardless of their destination, in Germany.