At that time the ISN was founded, and it was a target of ridicule then. Later it was fought against, it was hated and loved at the same time, and today you can by no means get past the ISN if your business is piglets and pigs. Today, Franz Meyer zu Holte sets the tone, and you can hear it clearly! This tone can hardly be ignored. The great grand ones, the big bosses from the meat industry - and none of those who play the second fiddle! - are the ones to come in a never-ending stream to ask for the ISN's advice, thus having opened for them the gate into the big business. Whenever the ISN calls for support, they easily have larger numbers of farmers join them than has the East German metalworkers' trade union of their own members when they call for demonstrations!

It is quite insignificant whether or not you like the ISN, whether or not you do business with them - their members -, one thing must be admitted with respect: the persons responsible created something that is purposeful indeed. It will no longer be a target of ridicule - rather would many already be laughing on the other side of their faces!

Well then, if we are just deep-freezing laughter, let's go on with the EU parliament's demand regarding the issue of animal transports. I am convinced -- as I have been for quite some time, and I do not stand alone to think so (there are more of us every day) -- that the EU members of parliament might be sort of well-versed in the Bible but nevertheless do not know what they are doing!
Oh Lord, let wits rain down on us! Once in a while, a celebrity dared say so, whose name I would not mention here for reasons of data protection.

This whole debate on transports almost borders on a huge ... well, you certainly know what I mean! The current office-bearers are moving heaven and earth to get their ideas pushed through (and what might be their well thought out reasons for it?) before ..., well ...?!, before the new EU member countries will be able to join in the discussion. Do they really consider their new partners to be that backward to justify that the Poles, the Latvians and others should, for instance, be refused to be given the right to vote? Or what else might be the reasons for trying this hard to have decisions like these be pushed through right now? It looks as if the new partners might get started in lousy way! I'm sure I would get mad if I were one of the Poles.


Quite differently, Dr. Uwe Tillmann, Chairman of Bestmeat Company and a rising star in the slaughter industry, did a brilliant start. Being a young, dynamic, intelligent and good-looking person (everyone could convince oneself of this during the ISN event), he wins the German slaughter industry over for himself. In any case, he succeeded in doing the deal with Nordfleisch. I don't have the faintest idea about what effect this takeover through Bestmeat will have on the industry. So, me just like you I will have to have the patience to wait and see what steps Dr. Tillmann will take next.

Maybe others are worrying about quite different problems. I do not want to stir up anything, but would Dr. Giesen already think about the compensation that would be paid to the chairmen of Westfleisch in case an either hostile or friendly takeover were carried out? He most presumably does not need to; things like these are most probably being laid down in contracts in advance.


Reference: vfz - Vieh und Fleisch Handelszeitung (agricultural newspaper)