German supermarkets lag on promised cheap meat phase‑out

In early 2025 Germany’s major grocery chains – Aldi, Lidl, Rewe and its discount arm Penny – announced that meat from the lowest animal‑welfare tier (Haltungsform 1) would be removed from their shelves by the end of 2025, with a shift toward higher‑welfare tiers by 2030. In July 2026 a listener reported still finding Haltungsform 1 beef in a Penny store. The Rewe Group replied that “Vereinzelt könnten derzeit noch einzelne Rindfleischartikel der Haltungsform 1 verfügbar sein, wenn entsprechende Rohstoffe aus höheren Haltungsformen nicht ausreichend zur Verfügung stünden.” Greenpeace estimates that about 80 % of supermarket meat still comes from tiers 1 and 2, which it calls animal‑welfare‑deficient. Retailers cite limited supply of higher‑welfare meat, higher prices and a gradual transition as reasons for the discrepancy. The gap between public commitments and actual shelf offerings shows that the phase‑out is proceeding much more slowly than advertised.