Slaughterhouse Corona. There is one sector that keeps causing outbreaks: the meat industry.Vion's meat factory in Groenlo closed due to corona outbreak. In Germany in recent days, unrest over the slaughterhouses sounded more and more frequently like corona's hotspots.Large outbreaks of corona were also found among slaughterhouses in France, Spain, Australia, Canada and the United States.In the US, even a real meat crisis was proclaimed. There were so many slaughterhouses to close because of corona contamination that one quarter of the slaughter capacity for pigs was out of operation. That led to shortages of meat in stores.

That this is the first Dutch abattoir that should close because of corona is not strange. - One #slachthuis of Vion in Groenlo is closed on Wednesday immediately. This was necessary because the Dutch Food and Food Safety Authority (NVWA) withdrew its inspectors from that abattoir because possibly 20% of the butchers are infected with corona. Without that NVWA inspection, a slaughterhouse may not operate. Possible 45 infections.

It is time to deal differently with nature and our food.
A zoonosis (a disease communicable to humans) from an area where many people and animals live close to each other, such as in Brabant and Limburg. Infectious and dangerous zoonoses for humans are more common. Examples are BSE in the late 1990s. Q-fever in 2007, Avian flu in 2013 and Ebola in recent years. The United Nations and various scientists point out the link between these diseases and the destructive way in which we as humanity deal with nature. Think of the large-scale deforestation for agricultural land, which reduces the physical distance between wildlife and humans and viruses reach us faster. The relationship of zoonoses with industrial food production, in which animals are kept too close to each other, is becoming increasingly stressed.

Corona and the future of our foodThe coronavirus exposes the weaknesses in our food and agricultural system. Many people in the Netherlands are looking for locally produced food. That's possible in many places. But only with a radically different vision and policy will we really make the change to a future-proof and healthy agricultural and food system. Now and after the crisis.

Workshop 5 June - Draw your food system!
The third Food Anders conference has been postponed due to the corona crisis. That's why we'll give you a taste online. Sign up for our first online workshop on System Drawing on June 5th. In this interactive workshop by Eva Bullens (Collective Practice) you will learn how to make a system drawing with markers and paper to get your food system in view, and how to improve it, for example by making it more accessible.

The Transition Engine calls for a more sustainable food system
Over the past nine weeks, more than 800 people from all kinds of organisations, networks and sectors, led by DRIFT, have discussed the course the Netherlands needs post-corona. From these sessions came the Transition Motor: a platform for solutions and scenarios for a sustainable and social future. Do you want to join? Sign the petition to the government, which includes a handout for the Netherlands of tomorrow in 10 pillars, including a sustainable food system. Read the handbook here.





It is time to deal differently with nature and our food.