Aldi: Discounter relies on the "5D rule" - the price of meat quadruples

Created: 2022-02-25Updated: 2022-02-25, 08:30

By: Marten Kopf

The campaign for more animal welfare at the discounter giant, which began last year, is becoming really expensive for customers.

Those who haven't benefited from it yet are the farmers.

"By 2030, we will consistently convert 100 percent of our fresh meat range (beef, pork, chicken, turkey) to the high husbandry forms 3 and 4.

For the implementation of our animal welfare promise, we follow a step-by-step plan with clearly defined milestones.” With these sentences, the discount chain Aldi* advertises the “change of attitude” that it started last summer.

According to a press release, the company wants to focus even more on goods from Germany.

The aim is to set an example for more animal welfare and at the same time to strengthen German agriculture, it said.

By the fourth quarter of 2022, the plan is to consistently switch to “5D” for conventional fresh pork*.

This means that all steps in the value chain should take place in Germany.

There are 5 steps until the pork ends up at Aldi: birth, rearing, fattening, slaughter and cutting/processing - hence "5D".

What sounds good in and of itself, nevertheless promptly provokes heavy criticism.

And that from two sides.

On the one hand, customers fear a significant price increase associated with the change in attitude, which they are undoubtedly right about.

On the other hand, farmers' associations complain about an aggressive low-price strategy at the food giant.

And not only with fresh meat, but also with dairy products*.

The representatives of agriculture would have to fight bitterly for every tenth of a cent of cost compensation for the implementation of more animal welfare on farms*, according to the farmer representatives.

"5D rule" at Aldi: the price of fresh meat has quadrupled

What switching to organic meat means for customers is shown by a simple example that a HEIDELBERG24* reader recently discovered in an advertising brochure.

Aldi offers chicken breast fillet there.

Not really that unusual.

But you can find it in two different “versions”: on page 4, namely at a price of 5.98 euros – directly “opposite”, on page 5, then the organic version of husbandry level 4. Customers have to pay 24.99 euros per kilo put .... on the table.

That's more than four times as much for the same product.

Of course, animal welfare should be worth this price to customers, no question about it.

But the calculation only works out in the long term if the “producers”, as the saying goes, in this case the farmers, participate in the price increase in such a way that they can actually ensure the animal welfare in question.

But that is often not the case.

The representatives of the food retail trade prevented a more extensive catalog of animal welfare criteria for the program because they could not or did not want to pay the cost compensation for farmers, the farmers' associations warn.

And call Aldi's pricing policy a "slap in the face to smaller business structures".

Prices at Aldi: “animal welfare” only for fresh meat

For customers, there are still alternatives, at least as far as the increased prices are concerned, because Aldi has left a back door open when it comes to animal welfare.

Excluded from the change of attitude are (international) specialties and frozen items.

They will continue to be offered without viewing the form of husbandry.

The "consequence" announced by the discounter in the changeover relates exclusively to fresh meat.

Only Aldi knows why. (mko) *HEIDELBERG24 is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA