The Woeste Grond is the best alternative for the bio-industry, with its junk-free natural butcher's shop. We show that it is possible to "produce" animal-friendly, people-friendly and environmentally-friendly meat. Our ultimate goal is for people to make conscious dietary choices and thus eat less meat.
We (Eugénie Benda and Léon Stam) did not start De Woeste Grond to make a lot of money, but to make the world a bit more beautiful. For us, social profit is of paramount importance, which is why the profit motive has become of secondary importance.
Our mission is to create social and sustainable added value. We do this by maximising the positive impact that our company has on society and minimising the negative impact such as our carbon footprint. Examples of this are: creating jobs in areas of shrinkage, filling jobs with people who are distant from the labour market and producing animal-friendly meat with an eye for the environment and health.
The animals are born as landscape managers and grow up grazing in the nature of the Northern Netherlands. Because the animals maintain nature there is no need for fossil fuels. The animals get their food and water from the areas, transport is not necessary and they do not contribute to the greenhouse effect. Because they are not fattened with protein-rich feed they emit less methane. Also, the manure is not stored and directly absorbed into nature, which means that no methane and nitrous oxide are released. No feed is produced for these animals and so they do not contribute to deforestation and climate change. All this means that the carbon footprint of these animals is considerably lower than that of (organic) animals on a farm. Of the animals we sell almost everything: 90%, normally this is 70%.
All cattle are born as landscape managers and grow up grazing in nature reserves. The animals enjoy this great freedom of movement. The bulls stay in the herds and walk between heifers and calves. Our cows give birth in a natural way in nature and the calf of course stays with its mother. This is animal welfare at its best!
The strong primeval breeds sniff the outside air all day long; they live in the wild 365 days a year, without outside help.
Concentrated feed? No, it is not! Unless you mean herbs, grasses, branches and leaves. The animals eat intuitively and live in nature reserves where there is a lot of food, keeping themselves healthy. As there is different food in winter than in summer, they move with the seasons. Living in the natural habitat makes the meat tasty.
Fattening, fattening... terms that we are NOT concerned with. Our animals are given time to grow at their natural pace. This keeps the animals healthy and makes the meat a very healthy food for us.
There is no need to give our animals antibiotics, to worm them out or to vaccinate them. The primeval breeds are resistant to outdoor life and therefore do not become (quickly) ill.
Slaughter takes place with all due respect and tranquillity in a small slaughterhouse. Our nature farmer André brings them himself and stays with the animals until they hang on the hook. The meat is processed in our (organic certified) artisanal butcher's shop.
Because Léon doesn't want to use junk, he composes his own organic herbal blend. So no sugar, gluten, harmful e-numbers or other rubbish enters the butcher's shop. In addition, he adds 50% less Celtic sea salt.
We want a large proportion of people to be aware of the fogs in the bio-industry. They need to see meat as a luxury again, pay the right price and eat less meat. Then we will save animal suffering, the environment and our health. In addition, we want to make natural meat available to everyone.
Our small team includes people with disabilities. Everyone can be themselves and develop, which creates a special composition of talents.
