The meat industry are the people and companies engaged in modern industrialized livestock agriculture for the production, packing , preservation and marketing of meat (in contrast to dairy products, wool , etc.). In economics , the meat industry is a fusion of primary (agriculture) and secondary (industry) activity and hard to characterize strictly in terms of either one alone. The greater part of the meat industry is the meat packing industry – the segment that handles the slaughtering , processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as poultry , cattle , pigs , sheep and other livestock .
40-581: The WIMEX Group is an internationally active German company in the meat and agricultural industry , based in Köthen , Saxony-Anhalt. With an annual capacity of 435.455 million hatching eggs, it is the largest producer of day-old chicks for chicken fattening in Europe and one of the world's largest suppliers of broiler chickens of the Cobb breed . Its revenue in 2021 was €295,158 million. Just under 50 percent of
80-469: A Moscow -based Russian food company that is a major producer and processor of poultry and pork . The group was founded in 2005 in the union of the APC "Cherkizovsky" and APC "Mikhaylovskiy". In May 2011, Cherkizovo completed the acquisition of 100% of Mosselprom [ ru ] , a company specializing in the production of poultry products. It costed Cherkizovo $ 252.9 million, of which $ 183.8 million
120-618: A 2018 study in the Italian Journal of Food Safety, slaughterhouse workers are instructed to wear ear protectors to protect their hearing from the constant screams of animals being killed. A 2004 study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that "excess risks were observed for mortality from all causes, all cancers, and lung cancer" in workers employed in the New Zealand meat processing industry. The worst thing, worse than
160-517: A 40.83% stake in Cobb Espanola SA and a 50% stake in Cobb Russia . Cobb Russia supplies Russia's largest poultry meat producer Cherkizovo , among others. WIMEX owns more than 8000 hectares of arable land for feed cultivation using conventional farming methods. Most of the cultivation is carried out by the subsidiary Agrargesellschaft Wulfen mbH. The produce, mainly grain and corn, is used for
200-457: A list of agro-industrial large-scale landowners that would destroy many times more farm jobs and endanger agricultural structures . WIMEX has been accused of food waste in vegetable production by local residents. Truckloads of fresh vegetables were dumped and plowed under in the fields instead of being marketed or given to those in need. WIMEX defended the practice by saying that it would be nothing unusual and resulted from high specifications by
240-777: A pipe. I can't care. The act of slaughtering animals, or of raising or transporting animals for slaughter, may engender psychological stress or trauma in the people involved. A 2016 study in Organization indicates, "Regression analyses of data from 10,605 Danish workers across 44 occupations suggest that slaughterhouse workers consistently experience lower physical and psychological well-being along with increased incidences of negative coping behavior." A 2009 study by criminologist Amy Fitzgerald indicates, "slaughterhouse employment increases total arrest rates, arrests for violent crimes, arrests for rape, and arrests for other sex offenses in comparison with other industries." As authors from
280-411: Is a heavily vertically integrated industry where the majority of supply chain stages are integrated and owned by one company. The livestock industry uses more land than any other human activity and is one of the largest contributors to water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions . A relevant factor is the produced species' feed conversion efficiency . Taking into account other concerns, like
320-580: The Freitag Group for the construction of photovoltaic systems on stables. In March 2021, H5N8 avian influenza broke out at a WIMEX farm in Nittenau , Bavaria. As a result, around 52,000 animals were culled by gathering them in containers and subsequent CO 2 flooding. A restricted area was established around the WIMEX farm, and restocking of the barn was officially prohibited for 21 days. It remained unclear whether
360-538: The Heinrich Böll Foundation 's meat atlas ( Fleischatlas ), WIMEX was one of the largest emitters of ammonia in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , contributing to the acidification of soils, the overfertilization of groundwater and the formation of health-damaging particulate matter. In 2017, the research organization Correctiv published a data analysis according to which the nitrate content of
400-533: The Netherlands . In 2017, WIMEX opened two newly built hatcheries , in Elsnigk as well as Vreden . The company's founder Gerhard Wagner presided over the operational management from 1985 to 2019. Since then, the company has been managed by three managing directors: Ulrich Wagner, Leopold Graf von Drechsel and Ralph Weickert. In 2020, WIMEX founded the joint venture WIMEX & Friends Energy GmbH & Co. KG with
440-451: The Slow Food movement are indicators of a changing consumer conscience in western countries. Producers on the other hand have reacted to consumer concerns by slowly shifting towards ecological or organic farming . The Alternative meat industry is projected to be worth 140 billion in the next 10 years. Cherkizovo Cherkizovo (full name: Open Joint Stock Company 'Cherkizovo') is
SECTION 10
#1732870039586480-581: The United States . On average, one employee of Tyson Foods , the largest meat producer in America, is injured and amputates a finger or limb per month. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported that over a period of six years, in the UK 78 slaughter workers lost fingers, parts of fingers or limbs, more than 800 workers had serious injuries, and at least 4,500 had to take more than three days off after accidents. In
520-453: The 1990s, the company expanded into Eastern Germany . There, the company invested extensively in agricultural land, making it one of the larger investors in the agricultural land market in the new states of Germany. In 1998, WIMEX took over the distribution of the Cobb breeding line under the name Cobb Germany as a franchisee of the international breeding company Cobb-Vantress (part of Tyson Foods ). From 2005 onwards, WIMEX expanded into
560-575: The Cobb breed annually. For parenting, the company runs 97 farms. To hatch the hatching eggs, the company runs a number of hatcheries. Day-old chicks are marketed internationally. Important customers are the PHW Group, Plukon and the Sprehe Group. The company also operates chicken fattening plants. The 6 fattening facilities have a capacity for 830,790 chickens and produce 8 million broilers annually. WIMEX has
600-470: The PTSD Journal explain, "These employees are hired to kill animals, such as pigs and cows, that are largely gentle creatures. Carrying out this action requires workers to disconnect from what they are doing and from the creature standing before them. This emotional dissonance can lead to consequences such as domestic violence, social withdrawal, anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse, and PTSD." Slaughterhouses in
640-720: The United States commonly illegally employ and exploit underage workers and illegal immigrants. In 2010, Human Rights Watch described slaughterhouse line work in the United States as a human rights crime. In a report by Oxfam America , slaughterhouse workers were observed not being allowed breaks, were often required to wear diapers, and were paid below minimum wage. Cultured meat (aka "clean meat") potentially offers some advantages in terms of efficiency of resource use and animal welfare. It is, however, still at an early stage of development and its advantages are still contested. A growing trend towards vegetarian or vegan diets and
680-555: The company MB Capital Partners (58.74%); whose owners (in the par basis) chairman Igor Babaev , CEO Sergei Mikhailov, Lydia Mikhailov, and Evgeny Mikhailov. In May 2006, Cherkizovo held an IPO at Russian Trading System, the Moscow Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange (LSE). As a result, 27.8% of the total share capital is in free circulation. The group's capitalization after IPO reached 904 million. In 2011,
720-505: The company's shares are owned by the PHW Group . The family-run group of companies consists of 28 individual companies, the parent company being WIMEX Agrarprodukte Import und Export GmbH with administrative headquarters in Regenstauf, Bavaria. WIMEX has repeatedly come under criticism. Among other things, the company has been accused of animal cruelty and environmental damage. In 1961,
760-504: The company's poultry capacity reached 550 thousand tons, ahead of the previous leader, Prioskolye (470 thousand tons per year). In December 2018, Cherkizovo bought an asset in Siberia for 4.6 billion roubles ($ 70 million) from its local rival ZAO Prioskolie. In December 2021, Cherkizovo announced 100% asset consolidation of "Tambovskaya Indeyka" LLC, by buying back 50% of capital of Spanish "Grupo Fuertes" in their joint LLC. In January 2022,
800-541: The deal wal closed and thereby "Grupo Fuertes" increased its stake in the holding company, PJSC "Cherkizovo Group" from 8,58% up to 11,12%. In February 2022, Cherkizovo announced 8,5 billion roubles of investments in a pig complex in Tambov Oblast , totalling company`s investments in the region by 15 billion roubles since 2013. In 2010, the main shareholders of the company was the JPMorgan Chase Bank (31.9%) and
840-401: The ever-growing meat branch in the food industry involves intensive animal farming in which livestock are kept almost entirely indoors or in restricted outdoor settings like pens . Many aspects of the raising of animals for meat have become industrialized, even many practices more associated with smaller family farms , e.g. gourmet foods such as foie gras . The production of livestock
SECTION 20
#1732870039586880-453: The findings with data on pollutant emissions from the farms. Correctiv criticized that WIMEX receives public subsidies in large amounts, but at the same time harms the common good in the form of factory farming as well as environmental pollution. In 2018, Der Spiegel reported that WIMEX had received around €275,000 in EU agricultural subsidies the year before and criticized the fact that the payment of
920-419: The floor. The footage also showed animals being killed in a manner contrary to animal welfare by having their necks twisted. ARIWA also criticized the fact that fodder was only available for one hour a day and that water was not continuously available either, which led to the sensation of hunger given the animals were bred for rapid weight gain. Michaela Dämmrich, official veterinarian and animal welfare officer of
960-450: The footage came from WIMEX farms and that back and shoulder injuries had been poorly treated. In 2017, the television magazine Frontal 21 and Spiegel Online reported on recent footage published by ARIWA from five WIMEX parent animal farms in Baasdorf, Rosefeld, Wettin-Löbejün, Wettin, and Pilsenhöh. The footage showed featherless chickens with festering wounds as well as chickens lying dead on
1000-697: The founder Gerhard Wagner (0.49%). The poultry division makes up the largest business unit with €215,998 million and 73.18% of total sales. In addition, the company is active in agriculture (€78.317 million, or 26.53%) and fodder production (€0.843 million, or 29%). Poultry is the core business area of WIMEX with a highly developed vertical integration : the company keeps grandparent as well as parent stock, operates hatcheries, sells day-old chicks and fattens chicken itself, produces feed and processes it in its own feed plants. For grandparenting, WIMEX has 36 farms in Germany, producing 10 million chickens of
1040-518: The groundwater around the WIMEX farms in and around Baasdorf exceeded the limit value by almost double. In 2010, ARD magazin Report Mainz broadcast footage published by the animal rights organization PETA of a parent-animal farm in Natenstedt, Lower Saxony, which showed chickens being kicked and thrown several meters against walls. The parent-animal farm was a WIMEX contract producer, and the buyer of
1080-464: The group announced the investment of 19.5 billion rubles in a major project for the production and processing of poultry meat in the Lipetsk Oblast . In 2012, the company sold 319.2 thousand tons of poultry meat, 103.8 thousand tons of pork, 127.4 thousand tons of processed meat products and has collected more than 115 tons of various cultures. Wheat yield was about 3.4 tons per hectare, barley yield
1120-523: The group's internal feed supply. Furthermore, WIMEX cultivates vegetables on 800 hectares. WIMEX markets the produce, including radishes and carrots, under the brand Bördegarten Gemüse . Managing director Gerhard Wagner was president of the lobby organisation Zentralverband der Deutschen Geflügelwirtschaft (Central Association of the German Poultry Industry, ZDG ) from 2001 to 2011. From 2011 to 2016, managing director Leopold Graf von Drechsel
1160-416: The hatching eggs was the PHW Group subsidiary Wiesenhof. Peta criticized the conditions as massive animal welfare violations. The PHW Group admitted that the recordings showed animal cruelty , the conditions were inexcusable and not compatible with the animal welfare guidelines for parent animal farms. According to PHW Group, these were individual cases, the company had drawn personal consequences. In 2016,
1200-577: The money was not linked to environmental or animal welfare requirements and that WIMEX did not have to pay anything back despite documented misconduct. According to the Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, WIMEX is one of the major investors in the agricultural land market in the new states. The Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft criticized the actions of WIMEX and other investors as East German land grabbing . The yearbook critical farming report ( Kritischer Agrarbericht ) registered WIMEX in
1240-469: The physical danger, is the emotional toll. If you work in the stick pit [where hogs are killed] for any period of time—that let's [sic] you kill things but doesn't let you care. You may look a hog in the eye that's walking around in the blood pit with you and think, 'God, that really isn't a bad looking animal.' You may want to pet it. Pigs down on the kill floor have come up to nuzzle me like a puppy. Two minutes later I had to kill them – beat them to death with
WIMEX Group - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-520: The poultry group Lohmann (now PHW Group ) started up the broiler hatchery Brüterei Süd in Regenstauf . Gerhard Wagner came to Regenstauf in the course of this as a field representative of Lohmann and later became managing director of the hatchery. In 1985, Wagner finally founded the WIMEX Agrarprodukte Import und Export GmbH 1985 in Regenstauf for the production of hatching eggs . In
1320-412: The price of industrial meat. American slaughterhouse workers are three times more likely to suffer serious injury than the average American worker. NPR reports that pig and cattle slaughterhouse workers are nearly seven times more likely to suffer repetitive strain injuries than average. The Guardian reports that, on average, there are two amputations a week involving slaughterhouse workers in
1360-616: The purchasing retail chains. Animal rights and environmental activists have repeatedly protested against new construction projects pursued by WIMEX. Regarding a planned construction in Cochstedt with a capacity of 80,000 animals, WIMEX announced in June 2016 that it would not pursue the project due to ongoing protest from the public. 51°42′33.0″N 11°58′51.00″E / 51.709167°N 11.9808333°E / 51.709167; 11.9808333 Meat industry A great portion of
1400-447: The state of Lower Saxony, classified parts of the recorded conditions as animal welfare violations and described the husbandry system as inappropriate for animals. WIMEX stated that it took the accusations very seriously, but could not provide a detailed assessment. In 2017, the investigative journalism organisation Correctiv published research on how many subsidies WIMEX receives through its various subsidiaries and then cross-referenced
1440-498: The television magazine Panorama broadcast footage published by the animal rights organization Animal Rights Watch (ARIWA) of animal farms run by leading officials of German agricultural associations. Among them were parent-animal farms run by WIMEX, whose CEO Graf von Drechsel was president of the Zentralverband der Deutschen Geflügelwirtschaft at the time. ARIWA spoke of massive animal welfare violations. Von Drechsel confirmed that
1480-496: The use of energy , pesticides , land, and nonrenewable resources , beef , lamb , goat , and bison as sources of red meat show the worst efficiency; poultry and eggs come out best. Among the largest meat producers worldwide are: Criticized aspects and effects of industrial meat production include: Many observers suggest that the expense of dealing with the above is grossly underestimated by present economic metrics and that true cost accounting would drastically raise
1520-530: The virus was introduced via a wild bird, due to poor hygiene, or through contaminated feed. The largest shareholder, with a stake of 49.25%, is the Wagner Family Foundation based in Regenstauf. The PHW Group, the largest company in the German poultry industry, is the second-largest shareholder, with a stake of 48.76%. The other shares belong to WIMEX Agrarprodukte Import und Export GmbH itself as well as to
1560-476: Was Mosselprom's debt. Part of the deal was paid for with shares of Cherkizovo itself. In March 2014, Cherkizovo Group acquired the largest Voronezh poultry meat producer LISKO Broiler. According to Kommersant newspaper, the deal was worth 5 billion rubles. Thus, Cherkizovo became the largest producer of poultry meat in Russia: as a result of the acquisition of LISKO Broiler (about 95 thousand tons of meat per year),
1600-622: Was president of the ZDG and on the executive committee of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Tierzüchter (Association of German Animal Breeders). WIMEX founder Gerhard Wagner received the Federal Cross of Merit in 2013 for his contribution to the integration of the two German states after reunification . WIMEX has repeatedly been accused of being responsible for environmental damage due to high ammonia emissions. According to
#585414