Germany: The Covid-19 pandemic exposed scandals in the meat industry.

The blame game

We are often reminded that "there is no such thing as a free lunch." In life, everything comes with a price, and this is especially true when it comes to the cheap meat that consumers in wealthy, industrialized countries often enjoy.

According to DW, after hundreds of Eastern European workers at the Westfleisch slaughterhouse in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, tested positive for Covid-19, it became clear that these workers were paying the price, sometimes with their lives, for cheap meat on the market. Of course, Westfleisch – the third largest meat processing company in Germany – has claimed responsibility for its workers. However, a closer look reveals that the company actually employs only a very small number of its own workers. Meanwhile, the majority of workers in this industry are hired by subcontractors, primarily from Romania, Bulgaria, and Poland.

Germans consume millions of animals every year. Photo: DW

The German meat industry exploits this loophole to cut costs. On paper, companies like Westfleisch bear no responsibility for the inhumane living conditions endured by hundreds of foreign workers in their slaughterhouses. Subcontractors, in turn, argue that the government should be setting and enforcing basic health and labor standards. However, in Germany, this is the prerogative of city or state authorities. This whole situation has led to a cycle of blame-shifting, with no one willing to intervene. Even the Minister of Labor of North Rhine-Westphalia, while expressing dissatisfaction with this "turning a blind eye" in the meat industry, has not taken any action. Similarly, no legislator has spoken out or acted on this issue.

For many years, perhaps the unspoken secret was that laborers from Eastern and Southern Europe toiled away for meager wages in German slaughterhouses, gradually wasting away and becoming ill in squalid, deprived conditions. The Westfleisch administration knew this, as did the subcontractors, local officials and police, the Coesfeld district administrators, the North Rhine-Westphalia state authorities, and even the federal legislators. The residents of Coesfeld were aware of this situation, as were those in neighboring cities. After all, they frequently encountered slaughterhouse workers at local supermarkets or bakeries. And until recently, almost no one seemed to care about the situation; many even argued that these workers came to Germany voluntarily, earning more money than they could in their home countries.

Rows of pork carcasses hanging in a slaughterhouse in Mannheim, Germany. Photo: DPA

Paying a heavy price for cheap meat.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic changed everything. If 3-4 workers were crammed into a single room, the risk of an outbreak was enormous. And this risk, of course, posed a direct threat to nearby communities. Even without the coronavirus pandemic, it would likely still be argued that most Germans would continue to ignore the harsh living conditions of these workers.

Returning to the reality, the scandal recently revealed in Germany has unwitting global consequences. The German meat industry is so competitive that it even exports to China. German companies can offer products at lower prices than their global competitors. However, to keep prices low, they also pressure farmers to cut costs. As a result, farmers confine pigs in tiny pens and inject them with antibiotics to prevent disease. The pigs are fed cheap soybeans or corn imported from South America, where many tropical forests are cleared for crops. This practice itself harms the Earth's climate and drives up land costs.

In the end, everyone is paying a high price for cheap meat. Animals raised with antibiotics mean humans are becoming increasingly resistant to certain drugs, and the meat industry pollutes groundwater by dumping excessive amounts of animal waste into agricultural fields…

Authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia have ordered the Westfleisch meat processing plant to temporarily close. Photo: DPA

German industrial leaders and politicians have long been aware of these consequences. Everyone understands that the only way to change the situation is to shift to decentralized, smaller-scale businesses producing high-quality meat in smaller quantities. This will likely reduce their revenue, as it will not be enough to cover the costs of exporting pork to the Chinese market. And, consequently, this solution will inevitably increase meat prices in the German domestic market. However, surveys indicate that a majority of Germans would support a shift to a more sustainable form of agriculture. What Europe's leading economy needs on this journey is determination, courage, and leadership to guide them to their goal.