Food Report

The great self-deception in front of the supermarket shelf

We always preach organic quality, but reach for the cheapest on the shelf.

(Bild: APA/Georg Hochmuth)

A recent report shows that our consumer behavior is highly contradictory. Are we lying to ourselves in our own shopping bag?

There is always a huge outcry in letters to the editor and online comments when a new "meat scandal" is uncovered and shocking images of horrific animal husbandry are made public. No wonder, nobody wants to have meat on their plate that comes from a stressed and sick animal that has never seen daylight. Remarkably, we hear everywhere that many people think they are not part of the problem.

We preach organic quality but go for the cheapest
"If at all, then we only buy meat from farms where we have looked at the stables", "I don't buy cheap products from discount stores" or "We only buy organic products of the highest quality" - this is the tenor in many places.

Our farmers work from dawn to dusk to produce food of the highest quality. We consumers have to make a conscious choice when we reach for the shelf.

Maggie Entenfellner, Leiterin der „Krone“ Tierecke

In an AMA motive analysis, 48 percent - almost one in two - stated that animal welfare is important to them when shopping. But the reality at the supermarket checkout speaks a different language. The proportion of organic meat we buy is a measly four percent. When we choose organic production, we do so primarily for milk and dairy products.

For example, every fourth carton of milk is organic, and more than every fifth carton of natural yoghurt. In addition, just under nine percent of butter is purchased organically and almost eight percent of cheese. So we dream of the beautiful pastures and the farmer with the cute little pig that the advertising promises us so colorfully, but then still tend to reach for the cheaper goods from conventional farming.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Adobe Stock)

Report: contradictory consumer behavior
"This is precisely the dilemma we are currently facing in the debate surrounding pig farming and fully slatted floors. We reject it, have very high standards when it comes to farming methods and production, but then buy the cheapest", says Maria Fanninger, founder of "Land schafft Leben". The association presented its latest report on food consumption this week and highlights the contradictory consumer behavior of Austrians.

Our hard-working farmers must therefore be supported by society and also by politicians if they are to implement the highest animal welfare standards on the one hand, but too few people buy these more expensive products from them on the other. Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig is aware of these circumstances and now wants to provide more incentives to strengthen organic farming.

Austria should remain the number one organic country
From 2025, an additional 30 million euros per year are to be made available for organic farms. "My goal is for Austria to remain the number one organic country," says Totschnig.

But we all have to make a contribution to this, because every time we reach for the shelf, we are also making a production order. Many people are not even aware of how much power they have with their consumer behavior. If you think about what you actually want when you go shopping and then look at what is in front of you in the shopping trolley, you can easily set an example.

Maria Fanninger and Hannes Royer from the "Land schafft Leben" association present the new food report, which highlights contradictions.

(Bild: Christian Hoppe)

How organic becomes a success story
Our farmers do invaluable work every day and produce products that are the envy of other countries. Norbert Hackl was voted one of the top three in Europe in 2022 with his organic farm "Labonca"! The "sun pigs" on the farm are allowed to run, dig and wallow. They are slaughtered in the pasture slaughterhouse without transportation.

Norbert Hackl landed on the EU podium in 2022, President Alexander van der Bellen is delighted.

(Bild: Lueflight)

With its "Pannatura" brand, the Esterhazy organic estate has also been converting all of its agricultural land to purely organic farming for over 20 years. The organic Angus suckler cow herd, currently numbering around 120 head, has complemented the organic farming at Seehof since 2006. During the summer months, the cattle graze on the dry grassland along the reed belt of Lake Neusiedl and protect this habitat from scrub encroachment. Managing Director Matthias Grün has perfectly developed the distribution channels and relies on a mix of farm-gate sales, online marketing and selected partners in the food retail trade.

Elisabeth Winkler and Managing Director Matthias Grün from "Pannatura" show Maggie Entenfellner their flagship farm.

(Bild: Radlinger)

Gastkommentar von Hannes Royer vom Verein „Land schafft Leben“

Sind wir alle Heuchler?

According to surveys, animal welfare is important to one in two people when buying meat. Despite this, only four percent of meat is organic. Why is that? We are masters at loudly demanding things but doing nothing about them. Instead, we shift responsibility - to politicians, retailers and farmers. It's time we honestly admitted to ourselves: Nobody is forcing us to buy food that we don't actually want. Not even the cheapest price.

Imagine you had to choose between pork from species-appropriate animal husbandry and pork from non-species-appropriate animal husbandry. Which would you choose? The answer is probably clear to most people in theory. In reality, however, we are faced with exactly this choice every day in the supermarket - and then decide not for animal welfare, but for the cheapest meat.