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Dairy farming has been the subject of public debate on animal welfare for a number of years now. Animal welfare discussions on dairy farming often include the demand for more nature connectedness in this area. This study focuses on the divergent perspectives of consumers and scientists on the importance of more nature connectedness for animal welfare strategies in German dairy farming. Within Europe, Germany is the main producer of cow’s milk and an important industry in many rural areas in Germany is dairy farming. The insights presented are based on qualitative interviews with dairy farming and livestock researchers from Germany and Austria. A key finding of this study is that we need to look more closely at the actual content of nature claims in animal welfare debates. The scientists interviewed tend to see idealized conditions in animal welfare discussions with images of nature which in fact seldom lead to improved conditions in dairy farming and, even then, only to a limited extent. The scientists interviewed rate calls for more nature connectedness in dairy farming from the nonagricultural public as anti-modern, complexity-reducing, and normative. Nevertheless, some of the scientists interviewed did have valuable insights into the nonagricultural public’s criticism of dairy farming practices. These scientists argued, however, that animal welfare needs to differentiate between nature connectedness and the innate needs of cattle when it comes to animal welfare strategies. An important conclusion of the study is that more discussion formats are needed to promote the exchange of ideas between different social groups attempting to understand animal welfare in dairy farming.
Animal husbandry methods also play an important role in public discussion, as animal welfare is often valued in society by visual perceptions. In this context, there is often an idealized idea of livestock husbandry and nutrition, which is staged by ideal-typical images. In the minds of many citizens, nature-loving images trigger a positive imagination that results from the longings of urban living conditions. Media and stakeholder analyses indicate that the use of straw in livestock husbandry and nutrition also has a positive impact on the welfare of livestock. According to this, straw is preferred by the public for more animal welfare. But what is not considered is the fact that the straw must be of impeccable hygienic quality
Die Klimakrise und die damit einhergehende notwendige Transformation unseres Energiesystems sind zentrale Themen in Wissenschaft, Politik und Gesellschaft. Neben den technischen und wirtschaftlichen Herausforderungen erfordert die Energiewende einen gesellschaftlichen Veränderungsprozess und muss von Vielen getragen werden. Doch auch wenn Klimaschutz in Deutschland eine hohe Zustimmung erfährt, stößt die konkrete Realisierung von Maßnahmen - wie z.B. der Ausbau der Windenergie - oft auf Widerstand.
Das Projekt „Zukunftsdiskurse in der Umweltkommunikation“ wollte deshalb durch zielgruppengerechte Workshops einen positiven Beitrag zur Energiewende leisten und das Wissen und die Akzeptanz ausbauen.
Folgende Forschungsfrage wurde in diesem Projekt behandelt: „Welche Standpunkte haben die verschiedenen Stakeholder und welche Meinungen und Blickwinkel haben betroffene Anlieger und Energienutzer gegenüber einer Umsetzung für eine Zukunft von 100 % Erneuerbaren Energien?“