Vice President Pein calls for a fairness package for domestic laying hen farmers
Graz (OTS) – For the first time since the pioneering switch by Styrian laying hen keepers to purely alternative farming, fewer hens are currently being kept across all types of farming – organic, free-range and barn farming – and some stables have even been empty for some time. Vice President explains what this means for the Easter period, when demand is particularly high Maria Pein: “We have taken precautions. Local laying hen keepers can provide sufficient Easter eggs and guarantee a secure supply. Every egg laid around Easter is offered as a colored Easter egg or as a fresh egg.” On average, every Styrian eats 8 colored Easter eggs around Easter.
Currently: high prices and mass imports – not really rosy times for domestic laying hen keepers who have dedicated themselves to alternative farming for decades
But why do local laying hen keepers still have to leave their stables partly empty? These are the effects of the still high energy, packaging and logistics costs as well as the Russian war of aggression. Vice-President Pein: “The high costs and the massive import pressure from cheap goods with much, much lower animal welfare standards from third countries and other EU countries have caused enormous uncertainty among domestic laying hen keepers – many of the stables in our small-scale operations therefore continue to remain empty. We hope that the tide will turn again and are calling for a three-point fairness package for laying hen keepers.” The dimensions of imports are enormous and have even increased fivefold in the past two years: in 2022 they will have one As a result of the continuous annual decline, only around 62 million eggs (around 170,000 eggs per day) cross the Austrian border in the form of shell eggs, liquid eggs or egg powder with low animal welfare standards; in the previous year there were even more than 300 million (823,149 per day). The Styrian laying hen keepers with their premium egg quality therefore had to house 70,000 fewer laying hens (Austria: minus 322,000 laying hens).
Substantially: Three-point fairness package: Fairness for local laying hen keepers – they need protection!
“This development is a serious blow for local laying hen keepers who have been committed to alternative farming for a long time,” says also Hans-Peter Schlegl, chairman of the Styrian laying hen keepers, who thanked the Styrians. He advocates choosing local premium quality when it comes to shell and fresh eggs. Pein and Schlegl would like to see more loyalty to eggs of local origin from the processing industry and the catering industry, where hidden foreign cage eggs are often found in their products and dishes – the origin is hardly marked. Pein and Schlegl are therefore demanding that political leaders provide a three-point fairness package for consumers and domestic laying hen keepers:
- Full transparency for consumers for processed products containing eggs such as pasta, cakes and mayonnaise in stores through consistent and mandatory labeling of origin from the stable to the counter. So far, the labeling of origin usually ends with the shell egg, on the packaging of liquid eggs and with egg powder. For processed foods containing eggs, the labeling of origin has a lot of room for improvement. Mandatory origin labeling makes it clear where the egg ingredients in pasta, cakes, mayonnaise, etc. come from, giving consumers freedom of choice. For 83 percent of Austrians, the origin of eggs in processed products is very important or important (RollAMA Motivanalyse, 2022, representative survey)
- Full transparency of the egg origin in the catering industry for guests: Fortunately, individual catering establishments and restaurants are already voluntarily taking this route and are thus creating a competitive advantage for their guests. The Chamber of Agriculture has already created a corresponding independent certification system with the “Good to know” mark of origin.
- More local eggs in canteens and communal catering facilities: Public communal catering facilities such as commercial kitchens in hospitals, kindergartens, schools, canteens or canteens also have room for improvement when it comes to local egg origins. This is where the National Action Plan for Public Procurement needs to come to life.
Zwtl.: Added value of domestic eggs: The big difference to mass imports
The keeping of laying hens in Styria and Austria is subject to the highest animal welfare and environmental standards across the EU. The advantages of keeping laying hens in Austria are: fewer hens in the barn and in the open field, smaller flock sizes – the number of hens per group is regulated, the obligation to stamp each egg immediately after removal from the nest, GMO-free feeding with Danube soy, no beak trimming in all types of farming, egg database and control of the entire flow of goods, annual health checks by the animal health service, antibiotic database, high organic content (see attachments).
Zwtl.: How can local eggs be identified?
Local shell eggs in the store can be identified by the stamp on the egg. This shows the country of origin, the type of husbandry and the individual company number of the respective laying hen keeper. With colored Easter eggs, darker colors tend to cover up this individual egg stamp, while with lighter ones it shines through. The local origin of the colored eggs can be recognized by the packaging, which has the red-white-red AMA quality seal, the AMA organic seal, “Good things from the farm” or the EZG logo (brand of the Austrian fresh egg producer association). carries. See attachment.
Zwtl.: Best practice example: Küche Graz only uses local eggs and labels them with the certified origin mark “Good to know”
9,500 meals are prepared every day in the Graz kitchen. “When selecting products, regionality is our top priority. We try to source as much as possible from farmers in the immediate area,” emphasizes Franz Gerngross, head of the kitchen in Graz. Because: “Of course we want our guests to be provided with the best quality. But it is also important to us to support local agriculture.” Incidentally, all products in the Graz kitchen are certified – i.e. meat, eggs, milk and also game. The advantages for the guests, i.e. kindergartens, after-school care centers, schools but also Vinzidorf, Vinzinest and Marienstüberl, are clear to Großmann: “Whoever eats our food knows what they have on their plate. By the way, this is becoming increasingly important to people.”
Second: Sandra Holasek, nutritionist, MedUni Graz: Egg-cholesterol myth cracked by science
New scientific data dispels the prejudice that eggs are pure cholesterol bombs. In addition Sandra Holasek, nutritionist from the Medical University of Graz: “There is no risk of developing cardiovascular diseases from egg consumption. On the contrary: the egg is a high-quality, health-promoting food.”
Zwtl.: Health benefits from the egg
“In addition to fish, the egg is a high-quality source of protein. The body converts the egg protein 1:1 and it is also easy to digest. “It’s a food that provides you with a very good supply of nutrients,” says nutritionist Sandra Holasek in defense of the egg. The valuable protein is also good for building muscles and ensures that muscle strength is maintained as much as possible. The breakfast egg, which is so popular in Austria, fills you up all day long. Holasek: “For example, it prevents cravings and makes a particularly important contribution to a healthy diet and is ideal as a light and health food.” (Ending)
Questions & Contact:
Mag. Rosemarie Wilhelm, rosemarie.wilhelm@lk-stmk.at, 0316/8050-1280, 0664/1836360