Tönnies: "Animal welfare milestone" planned
Starting in 2021, pork will increase in breadth to form two +++ Support for the state animal welfare label +++ Openness for the animal welfare investment program +++ The time is ripe for the national animal welfare consensus. The Tierwohl Initiative (ITW) has announced a small meat revolution as part of the Green Week. The participating food retailers have promised to raise the entire basic range of unprocessed pork to level two from 2021. The animal welfare product will therefore be widely available to customers of all buyers in the future. "We are reaching an animal welfare milestone," says Clemens Tönnies as a supporting partner of the Animal Welfare Initiative.
"With the increase of the entire basic range of pork to housing type two, animal welfare goods will be suitable for the masses". In the future, consumers will find the products of the Tierwohl Haltungsform Zwei initiative in all participating food retailers. “Our aspirations and the demands of consumers have changed over the past few years. It is therefore necessary not only to offer goods of all types of husbandry, but also to raise the breadth of pork to a higher level. ”Now, together with our partners from agriculture, we need to expand the required range in a targeted manner.
With this milestone, the industry shows that we are open to change and we are actively promoting it. "Now the infrastructure is being created to enable connection to the state animal welfare label," says Clemens Tönnies. "We see this step of the animal welfare initiative as a further success towards the realization of a state label and ultimately a mandatory husbandry label. We are open and ready for this." For Tönnies, today's ITW decision is a market solution that keeps Germany in international competition.
Tönnies is pleased about the lively discussion about the financing of a further conversion of livestock farming. Because farmers need support to implement social demands sensibly and at the same time to remain competitive.
"Even Greenpeace, the SPD and many others are gathering more and more behind the approaches of the expert commission around the competence network for livestock husbandry established by Julia Klöckner." “The time is ripe for a national animal welfare consensus. Let's forge it this year, ”demands Clemens Tönnies. Tönnies calls for an investment program for such a social consensus that enables the pigsties to be converted. "We are open to this discussion if a tax, whatever it is called, flows directly into agriculture."
