A new interpretation of regulations set by the European Union on the slaughtering of animals has several farms in Iceland considering the possibility of setting up small slaughterhouses as part of what they call ‘food tourism.’
The Farmers Association of Iceland has initiated a project to look into the possibility of which Arni Josteinsson is a vocal participant. “Home slaughtering offers opportunities for food-tourism,” Josteinsson said. “Farmers could even invite tourists to observe the meat’s journey until in ends up on their plates—from the field to the stomach.”
Josteinsson explained that EU regulations on slaughterhouses currently prevent most farmers from being able to set up small scale operations on their farmers. Regulations on the disposal of waste from the slaughterhouse and on supervision of slaughtering by veterinarians currently make the idea financially nonviable for most operations.
“But instead of having one vet for each slaughterhouse […] like we do here, we could try to establish more cooperation between slaughterhouses like farmers do in Austria and Germany,” Josteinsson suggested.
Iceland is joining with several other Nordic countries in order to explore alternative solutions like sharing vets between small scale farms. They are also looking into creating a workable compost system for slaughterhouse waste.
Under the current regulations, waste from the slaughterhouse must be properly transported to waste disposal stations. The cost of both transportation and the tariffs levied by the disposal stations are considerable, preventing most farmers from slaughtering their own animals.