News article, 19. December 2022

Danish pig production embraces green initiatives

The German Meat Congress (Deutscher Fleischkongress) in Mainz on 22nd and 23rd November attracted a large turnout.

Photo: Danish Agriculture & Food Council

The annual German Meat Congress provides an opportunity for the meat industry in Germany to acquire an overview of current national and global market developments of relevance to the meat industry and to the retail, wholesale and craft sectors. One of the 'Deep Dive Sessions' was entitled 'Sustainable Cooperation across the value chain: from farm to table – political objectives in Denmark'. The Head of Secretariat, Pigs, at the Danish Agriculture & Food Council, Anders Leegaard Riis, briefed the assembled audience about current climate and sustainability initiatives in Danish pig production. Riis also took the participants through the new Vision 2050 for Danish pig production. The vision includes measures to achieve climate-neutral pig production by 2050 as well as measures to promote animal welfare and health.

It was clear from the response that the topic excited a great deal of interest.

Priority areas in Danish pig production include integrating measures and pursuing processes that will deliver quality, welfare and sustainability in production in terms of minimising climate impact and producing more with less.

"We had the opportunity to explain to representatives from the German meat industry about the vision for future pig production in Denmark, and which measures have been successful in reducing climate impact. The depiction of what pig production will look like is also of current interest in Germany and it was a great pleasure to be able to give a presentation and interact with the audience who offered many relevant viewpoints,” says Kirsten Vernon Kristiansen, Chief Adviser, Markets & Nutrition, Danish Agriculture & Food Council.

As part of the presentation, Danish Crown, the international food company, presented their climate certification scheme targeted at their cooperative pig producers and their objective to be a climate-neutral food company by 2050. The presentation was also well received.