Hotspot analysis for organic laying hen husbandry—identification of sustainability problems as potential risk points to lose consumers’ trust

Abstract

Over the last decade, there has been growing societal concern about the welfare of farmed animals. Although organic agriculture provides higher living standards, there are still critical points which can damage consumers’ trust in organic livestock farming. That is a risk, as especially organic farming relies on consumer trust. A hotspot analysis was conducted to identify critical points within the organic laying hen husbandry in Germany. This methodology aims to examine the sustainability of a product along its whole life cycle. Based on literature reviews, the life phases breeding, keeping, feeding, animal health, transport, and slaughter were assessed with ecological, social, and animal welfare criteria. Finally, the results were triangulated with various experts, and the critical points were classified in terms of their potential to diverge from consumers’ expectations. Our results show a high dependency of the organic sector on the conventional breeding process and its specialized breeds. This fact involves critical points which contradict the ideology of organic farming. The loopholes in the organic EU regulations in transport and slaughter were identified as additional threats to consumer trust in the organic system. The overall not better animal health compared to the conventional poultry system and the high numbers of poultry kept on some organic farms are also possible causes of disappointment in consumers’ vision of organic livestock farming. Therefore, we recommend an adjustment of some organic EU regulations regarding these points. Further, a linkage of the organic certification of a slaughterhouse to higher animal welfare standards during slaughter should be considered.

To trust or not to trust? Trust landscape of organic animal husbandry: Mapping consumer attitudes and information demands in Germany

“…Thus, in general, it is of importance to avoid disappointment as this might lead to mistrust [64]. Furthermore, the combination of high expectations and low knowledge poses a risk of disappointment in these groups ("halo effect": [1,65]), which can in turn negatively affect trust, as it is not as solid as in cluster 1 that showed a high level of habitual trust.…”

In ovo sexing with Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI): A nondestructive and non-invasive method

“…Esto conlleva un gran desarrollo tecnológico en este sector; partiendo de las instalaciones, mejoramiento genético, alimentación, nutrición, sanidad "vacunación in ovo" e incubación (Weissmann et al, 2013). Las aves de granja son criados con dos propósitos, producción de huevos o producción de carne, donde existe una preferencia de sexos (Bayer et al, 2023); en la producción de pollos de engorde se prefieren machos debido a su mayor precocidad y mejores parámetros productivos que las hembras (Steiner et al, 2011), por el contario en las gallinas de postura comercial se prefieren a las hembras debido a los machos no son viables para producción de huevos ni para carne (Alin et al, 2019;Preuße et al, 2023). Los pollitos que nacen con el sexo no deseado son sacrificados dentro de las 72 horas posteriores a su nacimiento mediante trituración o exposición al gas (Aleynikov & Osipenko, 2023;Kaleta & Redmann, 2008), y son utilizados con otros fines, por ejemplo, como alimento de otras especies (Göhler et al, 2017;Gremmen et al, 2018).…”