Sauerkraut, chickens and pigs...
I spoke to German Parliament!
Or, more specifically, I spoke to parliamentary members of the Committee of Food, Agriculture, and Consumer Protection of Lower Saxony.
It's a bit of a mouthful.
Through a series of unexpected and surreal opportunities, your small town chicken farmer just traveled to Germany as part of a forum on animal welfare in poultry and hog farming.
Surrounded always by beautiful architecture and countryside, our group kept a tight schedule of visits to policymakers, researchers, farms and even a poultry processing plant, with, of course, a parade of delectable meals and delicious German wines in between.
My conclusions from the trip?
Public movements have power.
The general public across Germany, through their grocery shopping and pressure on policy-makers, have changed agriculture.
They have prioritized and created a market for more sustainable and humanely raised meat.
This has allowed many German farmers to adopt higher animal welfare standards profitably while adding things like
Greater space allowances per animal in barns
Access to the outdoors
Straw bedding
Improvements to animal welfare are expensive, requiring access to additional land, labor and infrastructure, and are only possible if the market is ultimately there to support the transition.
Germans have created that market.
You, the customer, are the piece that makes sustainable agriculture possible.
You impact the market when you prioritize buying higher quality meat; when you share your excitement for sustainability with friends; when you change eating habits to highlight local foods.
We are going to change agriculture in the U.S., I firmly believe this, it just needs time.
Germany was a fascinating and exciting highlight of how agriculture could look, but I was surprised to find a cautionary story there as well.
I'll share more on that next time.
On an unrelated note, I also found an unexpected new love across the pond...German white wines. I though I hated white wine, but these German ones were robust, balanced, and super refreshing, go give one a try this weekend.
See you at the market!
-Ellen
