TOPIC AREA LIVESTOCK FARMING

In Lower Saxony, especially in the west, the production of food of animal origin has always played a very important role. In 2020, around 6,200 farms in Lower Saxony kept almost 8.6 million pigs and around 5,900 farms kept around 80 million chickens. Both poultry and pig farming are economically very important branches of farming, which are often practised very intensively and not tied to a specific area. Social criticism of this form of farming has steadily increased in recent years. It is generally directed against the production of food of animal origin in its current form and against individual aspects of animal husbandry that are classified as (sustainability) deficits.

The grievances discussed in relation to animal welfare, environmental impact and food safety have led to a growing social rejection of current livestock farming. Criticism focuses on the conditions under which animals are kept and live, but also on the consequences of animal husbandry, such as environmental pollution including high nutrient inputs, waste of resources and excessive use of antibiotics, which are justifiably perceived as massive sustainability deficits.

The working conditions of workers in the food system, especially in slaughterhouses, have also come under increased scrutiny in recent years. Even though possible paths to socially acceptable livestock farming are discussed in the final report of the Commission for the Future of Agriculture (2021), there are still a number of challenges and, above all, conflicting goals that stand in the way of a sustainable transformation of livestock farming. These areas of conflict are particularly evident in livestock farming, which is very intensive, especially in western Lower Saxony, and make the transformation towards an improvement in production and consumption processes more difficult.