Interest group Caring Farmers

Caring Farmers is an advocacy organization for "nature-inclusive circular farmers." It was established two years ago after Minister Carola Schouten emphasized that the future of Dutch farmers is in circular agriculture. The latest annual report (2020) indicates that 225 farmers are affiliated with Caring Farmers, which includes arable farmers, livestock farmers, and mixed farms. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

On its website, the organization highlights nature, cycles, and animal welfare as its main themes. Farmers who want to join Caring Farmers don't need to meet any specific prerequisites. They are simply encouraged to "take a step further every year" toward nature-inclusive circular agriculture. Members must "account for this annually to other Caring Farmers." However, there is no concrete information available about the steps members have reportedly taken in recent years.

Improving animal welfare is a primary goal for Caring Farmers. In their code, the Farmers state that they "recognize animals as living, intelligent beings with emotions and feelings." The needs of animals are considered and addressed. ^{[4] [5]}

Collaboration with Animal Protection: Delta Plan for Livestock Farming

The Caring Farmers have teamed up with the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals (Dierenbescherming) to work on the Delta Plan for Livestock Farming. This initiative by the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals (Dierenbescherming) aims to make livestock farming "animal-focused and sustainable." Caring Farmers and the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals (Dierenbescherming) seek to collaboratively develop projects that enhance animal welfare in livestock farming. ^[6]

Caring Farmer Annechien ten Have, whose farm Ongehoord filmed sick and injured pigs, is being promoted by the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals (Dierenbescherming) as a leader in the Delta Plan for Livestock Farming. Caring Farmer Jan Broenink, in whose "rooting pig pen" significant welfare issues were also recorded, received a "Deltaplan Livestock Farming Award" in 2021 and was described as "an inspiration for livestock farmers." ^[7]

The Delta Plan for Livestock Farming doesn't aim to end livestock farming, which is the most effective way to reduce animal suffering. Instead, it focuses on securing a future for livestock farmers by promoting "welfare improvements." This approach primarily benefits livestock farmers rather than the animals themselves.

A prayer without end

Ongehoord's investigation over the past decade in Dutch livestock farming revealed that improvements in animal welfare do not provide fundamental solutions for the animals. Since 2011, the investigation team has published images showing serious animal suffering in both conventional livestock farming and organic barns, as well as on Beter Leven welfare certification farms.

Ongehoord's findings are backed by scientific research. Improvements in animal welfare often lead to new challenges. For instance, transitioning from cage systems for laying hens to free-range aviaries has resulted in an increase in bone fractures among the animals. ^[8] Group housing for mother pigs, which has been mandatory since 2013 under European animal welfare legislation, has resulted in heightened aggression issues and claw disorders. ^[9] In free-range farrowing crates, which serve as an alternative to farrowing cages, a significantly higher number of piglets are crushed to death by their mothers. ^[10] The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) warns of a considerable risk of swine fever on pig farms that allow outdoor access. The report "Animal Welfare in Circular Agriculture" (Council for Animal Affairs, 2020) also emphasizes the increased disease risks for production animals with outdoor access, including avian influenza in chickens, tetanus, Weil's disease, skin burns in pigs, and liver fluke in cows. ^[11]

Stop livestock farming

The Ongehoord investigation into livestock farms by Caring Farmers reveals that animal welfare in livestock farming often exists only on paper. Images from the farms of Caring Farmers, Annechien ten Have, and Jan Broenink displayed sick, stressed, and injured pigs. In a new publication, Ongehoord now highlights crippled and dead chickens on Caring Farmers' poultry farms.

Caring Farmers states that "livestock farming should be based on the needs of animals." However, this idea contradicts itself. Animals do not need to produce food for humans or to be slaughtered. Acknowledging animals as living, intelligent beings with emotions and feelings means that breeding, exploiting, and killing them can no longer be justified.

Caring Farmers advocates for a radical end to all forms of animal production. Livestock farming has no place in a sustainable and animal-friendly agricultural model. Caring Farmer Joost van Strien demonstrates in practice that circular agriculture can be successfully achieved without animals and without animal manure. ^{[12] [13]}