1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

The Great Meat Debate - Part 1: The Status Quo

January 19, 2023

Factory farming is a mainstay of modern agriculture. In a story told from three very different perspectives, this documentary draws a fascinating and also frightening picture of the status quo.

Filmstill Dokumentation Wen dürfen wir essen?
Image: RB

Pig farmer Dirk Nienhaus grants us a rare glimpse behind the scenes at his modern piggery. He shows how livestock breeding has developed into a high-tech, efficient process - highlighting the fact that factory farming and cheap meat are two sides of the same coin.

Image: RB

Dirk Nienhaus sometimes reflects on whether his pigs are suffering and candidly considers his personal role in the system. Friedrich Mülln views modern farming from the opposing side: the founder of the animal welfare organization SOKO Tierschutz has specialized in publicizing scandalous conditions in factory farms.

 

In the search for evidence of violations, he films in secret at night - the documentary contains some of the footage he manages to capture. Friedrich Mülln outlines why he condemns factory farming outright.

Anja Hradetzky is looking for ways to harmonize livestock farming and animal wellbeing - and finds herself challenging the limits of the system. Her cows live out on the pasture. The calves are raised by their mothers. They’re out in the fields when they’re killed - with a single shot. Nevertheless, questions remain: What constitutes a happy life for animals?

Image: RB

Who decides when that life should end? But also: Why is this not the norm in 99 per cent of livestock farms? And why, after so many years, does a farmer like Anja still struggle to make a living?

 

 

 

Broadcasting Hours: 

DW English

SUN 12.02.2023 – 00:02 UTC
SUN 12.02.2023 – 14:30 UTC
SUN 12.02.2023 – 20:30 UTC
MON 13.02.2023 – 01:15 UTC
MON 13.02.2023 – 04:15 UTC 
WED 15.02.2023 – 17:30 UTC 

Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 I Nairobi UTC +3
Delhi UTC +5,5 I Bangkok UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8
London UTC +/-0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3
San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5

DW Deutsch+

SUN 12.02. 2023 – 09:30 UTC 

Vancouver UTC -8 | New York UTC -5 | Sao Paulo UTC -3  

 

Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW