Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd will join forces for a unique collaboration: they will launch their own animal welfare quality mark. “Fair & Gut” (Fair and Good) will launch in Germany for poultry products, but steadily expand.
Fair & Gut label between “traditional” and organic
Some of Aldi’s fresh meat products (both at Aldi Nord and Süd) will be labeled Fair & Gut. The combination represent a fair trade and a good treatment, according to both divisions in a joint press release. The discount group aims to take up its social responsibility and to support more animal welfare.
The Fair & Gut label will apparently merge different animal welfare labels’ criteria and will surpass the legal requirements. Six poultry products in South Bavaria, parts of Hamburg and Berlin will carry the label at first. The criteria include hay in the barn, more room for animals, access to fresh air and non-genetically modified animal food. The label is apparently positioned between traditional prices and organic prices. The same positioning is also relevant for when it comes to the criteria it will adhere to.
Increase demand for transparent and animal-friendly heritage
At first, the new label will adhere to the demands required to obtain the German animal welfare union’s label for poultry farmers, called ‘Für Mehr Tierschutz’ (“For more animal welfare”). Independent researchers often check these farmers to see the rules are being upheld. Aldi wants to expand the criteria even more in the future, just as it wants to expand the product range that will get the Fair & Gut label. The supermarket group is considering criteria like alternating environments and more time to grow up.
“We see an increased demand for products that are animal-friendly and a transparency need regarding food’s heritage”, Aldi Nord’s sustainability manager Rayk Mende said. “We find it important that our Fair & Gut label can support farmers to invest in their farming environment.” The higher price of these products should allow farmers to invest, for instance when they need larger or new stables or more room for the animals to roam.
