There are protests against Aldi in the USA. The accusation is that pigs and chickens are kept under cruel conditions that are prohibited in Germany – the discounter’s country of origin.

Aldi South sees itself as a “pioneer” in animal welfare. At least that’s what it says on the company website. The discounter cites, among other things, its first place in animal welfare rankings by Greenpeace and the Albert Schweitzer Foundation as evidence. Within Germany, Aldi Süd actually seems to care more about animal welfare than the other discounters and supermarkets.

But on the other side of the Atlantic, there is currently Criticism of pig and chicken farming in the German company’s supply chainswhich also owns the Aldi US stores. The animal rights organization Animal Equality claims that Aldi US suppliers are raising pigs and chickens under cruel conditions “The German company allows pigs to spend their entire pregnancy and chickens almost their entire lives in cages. ALDI Süd’s suppliers to its US branches still rely on cage farming,” says a post by Animal Equality Germany on Instagram:

The animal welfare organization protested at new openings of Aldi Süd stores on the street to point out the alleged abuses at the discounter’s suppliers. In addition, Animal Equality Germany has Petition startedwhich already has over 20,000 signatures (as of September 5, 2024). In addition, the association also offers a pre-formulated email on the petition page that interested parties can send to Aldi Süd in their name to ask the company to rethink its approach.

Cage farming: (not yet completely) banned in Germany

One of Animal Equality’s allegations is that the farms from which the US Aldi Süd stores source their meat Keeping pigs in cages throughout their entire pregnancy. This so-called stall system is prohibited in Germany – but not completely. The corresponding Animal Welfare Farm Animal Husbandry Ordinance grants a transitional period until 2029. After that, pigs must be kept in groups in the breeding center, i.e. the part of the barn where they are artificially inseminated.

For the farrowing pen, where pregnant animals give birth, the transition period even lasts until 2036 – and even after that, the animals may be kept in the crate for up to five days around the time of birth. However, it is already the case that the pigs during her pregnancy for several weeks in the group A practice such as that of which Aldi Süd is accused in the USA, would not be allowed in Germany.

Both Chickens According to Animal Equality, Aldi Süd’s suppliers use Battery cagesThis form of confined cage farming has been banned in Germany since 2010 and in the EU since 2012. Each chicken is held in a space smaller than an A4 sheet of paper.

Both the pig cages and the battery cages for chickens prevent animals from living out their natural behaviorcriticises Animal Equality Germany: “Pigs in stalls cannot even turn around or take more than one step” and “chickens in battery cages cannot even spread their wings”, the petition says.

How does Aldi Süd react to the allegations?

When asked by Utopia, Aldi Süd refers to the “Animal Welfare Initiative”with which the discounter has been committed to promoting more animal-friendly and sustainable meat production since 2015. Since 2020, Aldi Süd has also been part of the European Broiler Initiativewhose aim is to increase animal welfare standards in chicken farming.

The discounter emphasizes to Utopia: “Aldi Süd goes far beyond the legal framework with its initiatives in Germany. Aldi Süd therefore also expects its suppliers to comply with the high standards. In doing so, the company is paving the way for better animal husbandry conditions in Germany and the entire industry.”

But all of this only applies to Germany. In the USA, there are market-specific differences due to structural and cultural peculiarities, such as different agricultural structures. “The market conditions in the USA are different than in Germany and the countries therefore make decisions independently”says Aldi Süd. The company does not explicitly rule out that the allegations are true. Utopia has therefore also asked Aldi US. However, at the time of publication of this article, no response had been received.

Sources used: Animal Equality Germany, Aldi South (Website)Mail correspondence with Aldi Süd