GLAMUR case-study report: The comparison of three Dutch pork cases (Tasks 3.5)

This report presents the case study results of local-global pork chain performances in The Netherlands. As part of Work Package 3, this case study was carried out in cooperation with our Italian GLAMUR partner. The Dutch pork production sector came up after World War 2 and developed into a highly intensified and specialized sector, with emphasis in the southern part of the country. As it became possible and economically attractive to transport fodder ingredients over great distances, pig husbandry became a booming sector, with high technology and knowledge input, and a major exporting sector. In the last decade, the number of pig farms reduced sharply, whereas the number of pigs per farm rose constantly. As a consequence of a combination of factors as pig disease outbreaks in the late 90-s, environmental externalities, growing national opposition against animal welfare conditions and growing international competition, the pig sector came to a standstill. In this study three chains are compared: first the Good Farming Global pork chain, to be considered Dutch most typical bulk pork chain, oriented towards more anonymous far-from-home markets with basic requirements in terms of low-priced, food safe and mainstream qualified. The second is the Sustainable Pork Chain, developed some 10 years ago on the Environmental certification schema (MK) as a transparent pork chain towards specialized butchers and more critical retailers. Third, the so-called Lupine Pig project has been analyzed, an early-life cycle initiative that responds to national growing demand for more locally sourced pork production.