As a leading global meat producer, we take our responsibility to look after the planet seriously. Sustainability is at the core of our business strategy, Feeding the Future, which covers the entire value chain from farm to fork. The journey towards more sustainable meat production can only be achieved by joining forces across sectors and industries, working together to develop sustainable solutions. For us, this begins on our farms. We invited Chef Director and TV chef Jack Stein to visit our Danish farmers and learn more about the steps they are taking to reduce their impact on our environment.
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Biodiversity
A farm naturally takes up a lot of space in the landscape, and therefore we also have a responsibility for nature and wildlife. By laying out wild ponds, pristine forest, and flower stripes around the fields, we ensure that bees and insects have natural habitats in the countryside. Biodiversity gives us clean air, fresh water, healthy soil, and pollination of crops.
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Animal Welfare
We give high priority to animal welfare and ensure that our animals are treated right from farm to abattoir. The best meat is achieved from healthy, thriving animals. And in Denmark, the governmental control process for animal welfare goes beyond EU requirements. Pigs raised for the UK market have even higher standards with loose sows, specialised feed and a higher degree of inspections.
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Biogas
Biogas cannot be bypassed when it comes to reducing the climate footprint of agriculture. Producing biogas from manure reduces our farmers' CO2 emissions. It is done by sending manure to biogas plants all over Denmark, and in some cases even building their own plants right on the farm. Here the gas from the manure is processed and repurposed. It is even used to heat the Danes' houses. Not only that but when the de-gassed manure is laid out in the field it does not emit the same amount of greenhouse gases.
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Slurry & Manure Management
We know that manure management is a key lever for sustainability on our farms, and that is why our farmers are working to improve the handling of farmyard manure. We do this by ensuring that slurry is discharged more quickly from stables, all slurry tanks are covered and when the slurry is spread on the fields, it is infiltrated into the soil as quickly as possible. This limits greenhouse gas emissions and reduces loss of nutrients.
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Antibiotic Usage
We advocate a responsible use of livestock antibiotics and require that our suppliers have a special focus on limiting the use, so as not to contribute to resistance by using antibiotics as a growth promoter or giving herd medication. Denmark is among the lowest users of livestock antibiotics of all the major pig producing countries and the well-established antibiotic control systems used, such as the Yellow Card Scheme, are held as an example for others. Our 'Pure Pork' pigs are raised without the use of antibiotics at all.
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The Climate Track
We acknowledge that we are part of the challenge regarding the climate, but also believe that we are part of the solution. In order to achieve our goal of reducing our carbon footprint by 50% by 2030 and being climate neutral by 2050, all of our Danish pig farmers have signed up to our sustainability program ‘The Climate Track’, with individual targets for reducing their climate impact. We are also proud to be one of the first large European meat producers to be validated by the UN-backed Science Based Targets Initiative, providing a clearly defined pathway for reducing our climate emissions.
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Regenerative Farming
We need to treat our soil as well as our animals. One way of doing this is through Regenerative Farming. Farming in this way increases the biological mass, creates more life in the soil, more biological processes as well as more organic matter, so that the soil does not ‘exhaust’. In addition to increasing the wildlife and fauna in the field, this method ensures the soil holds and absorbs carbon much better.
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Responsible Soy & Alternatives
In April 2020, we launched a soy action plan in cooperation with the Danish Alliance for Responsible Soy. We have defined a target stating that, by 2025, all slaughter animals from our cooperative owners and Danish suppliers will be fed on responsible soy. This soy will be produced sustainably, making sure that rain forest or other vulnerable, natural ecosystems have not been cleared to create space for soy production. We are also involved in research and developing alternative proteins, such as locally produced legumes.
Climate researchers all over the world are highlighting meat as one of the great challenges for our planet, the climate and the living conditions of future generations. This is a fundamental challenge for all meat producers, which we have a big responsibility to help solve. We cannot continue to eat and produce meat as we do now.
We must start to do things differently, and we have pledged to take the lead in finding sustainable solutions for producing meat with a lower climate impact and in a more sustainable way.
This does not mean that Danish Crown will be producing less meat. Because the global population is growing. In 2050, according to the UN, there will be approximately 10 billion mouths to feed. But we want to offer people a sustainable alternative, so they can eat meat in responsible quantities with a clear conscience.
To succeed, all links of the chain must contribute to doing things in new ways – consumers, retail chains, food producers and farmers.