German companies launch study on the sustainable future of pork production
Eight partners from industry and academia are involved, including AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG, The Hanor Company, TOPIGS-SNW GmbH, Westfleisch SCE mbH, and the Thünen Institute for Market Analysis. The project is funded by, among others, the German Raiffeisen Association, the Agricultural Publishing Foundation, and the Westphalian Landscape Foundation.
"Pig fattening is a key economic factor in Westphalia. After the German government recently sent what we believe was the wrong signal by cutting funding, we are now tackling these important issues ourselves locally. With a research project closely aligned with market developments, we will give farmers perspectives on how pork can be produced efficiently and sustainably in the future. Local meat production is essential in a world characterized by increasing uncertainty," says Dr. Jochen Farwick, who will chair the project advisory board. "With this project, we are embarking on an international comparison of the pork value chain in order to specifically identify the key factors that are driving German pig fattening forward", says Prof. Martin Banse, Head of the Institute for Market Analysis at the Thünen Institute. That's why, in addition to German partners, US partners are also involved in the project.
Over the next three years, the partners plan to conduct two coordinated research projects to investigate the efficiency of pork production, particularly fattening pig husbandry with regard to genetics and feeding, as well as slaughter and processing processes. The first subproject will identify key factors through international comparison and describe them in a model. The second subproject will focus on sustainability criteria. The goal is to develop an internationally applicable assessment model for such criteria, especially with regard to different methods for calculating greenhouse gas emissions.
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