Meating agriculture

E. Schmid

Meating agriculture

In: The ethics of consumption

Author:

E. Schmid

E. Schmid Department Veterinary Public Health Federal Administration County Vorarlberg, Landhaus, 6901 Bregenz, Austria; erik.schmid@vorarlberg.at

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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 522–527

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.3920/9789086867844_085

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Changing a system has three preconditions: dissatisfaction, vision, first step. The system of agriculture in western countries seems to get less satisfying the more intensive production is growing. Modern agriculture fails to ensure safe nutrition of global population but contributing to massive climate change. In ‘Food Crash’ Felix zu Löwenstein (2011) resumes that we will feed the world organic or not. To take first steps at the point of sale consumers have to be well informed about the whole process of food production. In industrial countries knowledge about farming is disappearing not only because of euphemistic pictures in advertising. The perception of highly emotional problems like animal welfare and environmental protection is differing significantly between farmers and consumers threatening communication and mutual understanding. Farmers tend to define the quality of a product in technical terms. Consumers want fulfilment of their expectations also within processing. Data of Eurobarometer are proving that the purchasing and nutrition behaviour of consumers significantly correlates with their knowledge and background of experience with local animal husbandry systems. Pupils as the consumers of the future need to be guided along the process from farm to fork. Within the program ‘animal welfare goes to school’ a class of an urban secondary school was invited to formulate their expectations on fair and regional meat products. In three excursions they experienced a wide range of animal husbandry systems including poultry, pigs and cattle. The final visit took them to a local producer of cheese and a retailing company. A concept of labelling of meat worked out by the pupils themselves was handed over to the marketing division. The whole process was also documented by a professional film-team producing a ‘making of ’ DVD named ‘Meating agriculture’. The management of the retailing company was deeply impressed by the process and involvement of the young people. The company recently rented one of the biggest farms belonging to the abbey Mehrerau at the lake of Konstanz to build a ‘lighthouse’ for organic farming analogous to Gut Rheinau in Switzerland. This concept perfectly matches the vision of the government of Vorarlberg to reach autonomy of energy until 2050. A first step taken by an important player on the market.

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The ethics of consumption

The citizen, the market, and the law

E-Book ISBN:: 9789086867844

Publisher:: Wageningen Academic

Print Publication Date:: 01 Nov 2013

Subjects
- Life Sciences

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The ethics of consumption

The citizen, the market, and the law

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