The proportion of meat from the higher “farming” levels in supermarkets is increasing. The conditions for keeping one animal in particular are improving.
More and more Meat in the supermarket comes from more animal-friendly stables. In 2024, around 62 percent of the beef in the self-service rack was in level 1 with the private “housing type” label, which only provides for a stable and comparatively little space. This is a decrease of 13 percentage points compared to the previous year, as the supporting company Initiative Tierwohl announced on Thursday before the Green Week agricultural trade fair in Berlin. Level 3 with access to the outside climate and more space rose from almost 6 to 17 percent.
The husbandry type label is a seal in red, blue, orange, light green and dark green with the numbers 1 to 5 for five levels with increasing husbandry requirements – from “stable”, the legal minimum requirements, to “organic”. It is currently being used by the supermarkets Aldi Nord and Süd, Bünting, Edeka, Kaufland, Lidl, Netto Marken-Discount, Penny, Rewe and the McDonald’s fast food restaurants used. The chain stores account for around 80 to 85 percent of the food retail sector.
The higher levels also increased for turkey meat: Level 2 (stable with a little more space) fell by 14 points to 78 percent. Level 3, on the other hand, rose by 13 points to 19 percent. As in the previous year, level 2 dominated for chicken with 89 percent. The lowest level was 0 percent.
86 percent of the pork came from level 2. The level 5 “organic” introduced in 2024 has a share of 4 percent for pork. Level 3 came to 3 percent.
Almost all goods marked
Overall, almost the entire offering of the respective type of meat at the participating companies was labeled. The rate was lowest for beef at 94 percent. For dairy products However, the labeling has not yet been implemented across the board: here it is only around 13 percent.
The initiative, supported by agriculture, the meat industry, retailers and catering companies, promised farmers two new programs for 2026 with price surcharges for additional animal welfare requirements of levels 3 and 4.
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