Form of farming questionable

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Around 5600 domestic grazing geese cackle in Burgenland's meadows. They often don't have it that good in neighboring Hungary!

(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

Austrians eat around 1,300 tons of goose meat per year, which is around 0.13 kilograms per capita - or the equivalent of a goose dish. However, this only comes from Austria in around one in three cases!The proportion of imported geese is particularly high in the catering industry. Some of them even come from farming methods that are not permitted in Austria. 

Although self-sufficiency with Austrian geese is slowly increasing, the majority of geese come from countries such as Hungary. These mainly end up on plates in the food service industry. It is estimated that between 70 and 80 percent of goose meat in the catering trade does not come from Austria.

Hannes Royer, founder of the "Land schafft Leben" association, says: "Austria is an absolute pioneer in goose fattening. Without exception, every Austrian goose has a run. At EU level, there are not even legal minimum standards for goose farming. 

Goose is something special and should definitely come from an Austrian farm!

(Bild: Alexander Raths)

"So you can imagine how the animals are kept in countries like Hungary. Unfortunately, thousands of imported geese from farming methods that are not even permitted here end up on Austria's plates every year - and usually without consumers knowing what they are actually eating. We finally need mandatory origin and husbandry labeling, including for the food service industry," says Royer. 

Large price differences compared to imported goods
The strict requirements in Austrian goose farming make it significantly more cost-intensive than that abroad. This is also reflected in the price. This year, the price differences in purchasing are particularly large. Fresh Austrian goose costs an average of around 10 euros more per kilogram in the wholesale trade than frozen goods from Hungary. Imported geese were significantly more expensive in 2023. This was due to higher raw material prices and losses caused by bird flu. 

With his association "Land schafft Leben", organic mountain farmer Hannes Royer takes a close look at food.

(Bild: Land schafft Leben)

No Austrian goose without an outdoor run
According to the Austrian Animal Husbandry Ordinance, every goose - regardless of whether it is reared organically or conventionally - must have an outdoor run. A maximum of 21 kilograms of geese may be kept on one square meter of floor space in the barn. That's about four geese at the time of slaughter. In addition, each animal must have at least 50 square meters of outdoor space. If the animals have more space in the barn, then less space is sufficient: if a maximum of 15 kilograms per square meter is kept, at least 10 square meters of space per animal is sufficient.