Pioniere einer Rinderhaltung mit natürlichem Sterben

Summary

Vegetarianism and Veganism have become the subject of public debate. But even a vegetarian diet including milk products results in the slaughtering of cows after their productive life and in the slaughtering of fattened male breed cattle. Narrative and semi-structured interviews were conducted on 5 farms that do not slaughter their cattle. These farms were either certified as organic farms, or are former organic farms or strongly oriented toward organic farming. Subsequently the interviews were analysed applying Grounded Theory. The emerging four principles of a care-system for healthy, handicapped, old, ill and dying cattle are described and related to the IFOAM principles. Further on innovations leading to this care-system and the main challenges it faces are elaborated. Cattle husbandry without slaughtering, that includes sanctuaries and farms which milk their cows is an emerging innovative example of an ethical choice that has the life of the animals as its main “product” and milk rather as a by-product.