The flag was flown at half-mast in front of Nortura’s chicken slaughterhouse in Elverum after the group board of Nortura decided on Wednesday that the slaughterhouse will be closed down. Nortura believes it will be more profitable to invest in cooperation with Ytterøykylling on a new slaughterhouse in Trøndelag. – It was a tough start, says 22-year-old Aron Nikolai Sommerset, who has just taken over as shop steward for the employees. He is not too worried about his own future. Now he has to fight for the others who will be without a job from 2024. Difficult decision for Nortura Nortura justifies the decision by saying that investing in a new slaughterhouse in Trøndelag will cut their costs by a quarter. – The board finds this difficult, says chairman Trine Hasvang Vaag. But she says Nortura must do it to strengthen the competitiveness and finances of the owners of the cooperative, who are farmers. Half of the chickens slaughtered in Elverum come from Trøndelag. This chicken will now be slaughtered in Trøndelag, while the chicken that has been slaughtered in Elverum is driven 18 miles south to Hærland in Østfold. – They are taking a big risk by closing down here, says union representative Aron Nikolai Sommerset. Both he and Robert Rødsdalen, who has been a trustee until now, know that chicken producers in the interior are considering starting a new slaughterhouse. The producers will have a meeting as early as Thursday to see if there is enough interest to start up among the 90 chicken producers in the interior. In that case, it will be a competitor to Nortura. SAD DAY: Robert Rødsdalen retires this year, but has fought for those who remain until the very end. Photo: Vibecke Wold Haagensen / news – I hope it becomes a reality, says Robert Rødsdalen, who has worked at the slaughterhouse for 22 years. Too many of the 127 employees have long seniority at the slaughterhouse and it is not so easy to get a new job. – The aim is that as few people as possible will be without a job. We have good experience in finding new jobs for employees who are undergoing restructuring, says CEO Anne Marit Panengstuen. WILL HELP EMPLOYEES: CEO of Nortura Anne Marit Panengstuen says they will work to ensure that all 127 employees get jobs before the slaughterhouse is closed. Photo: Vibecke Wold Haagensen / news Nortura will investigate the possibility of some operation in Elverum, but what it will be is not yet clear. Therefore, the employees face an uncertain future More food waste So do those who deliver hens for slaughter at Nortura’s facility in Elverum. The slaughterhouse received 600 tonnes of hatching hens and 200 tonnes of laying hens for food production last year. It is one of two slaughterhouses in Norway that accepts hens. The other is Ytterøykylling in Trøndelag. But they don’t accept the amount of hens made in Elverum. Elin Østeberg from Våler delivers between 7,000 and 8,000 hatching hens to the slaughterhouse each year. Now she is unsure whether the hens will be destroyed in the future instead of becoming gourmet hens. BECOME FOOD: Today, Elin Østeberg sends her hens to Elverum for slaughter so that they become food. Now she is unsure whether her hatching hens will become food or concrete. Photo: Frode Meskau / news Today, 3 million hens are used for glue, soap and concrete instead of food. This is revealed in the report “Underutilized food resources”, which is launched on the UN’s Food Waste Day on Thursday 29 September. – It is extremely unfortunate, says Østeberg. Egg-laying hens, which she has, are suitable for food production because there is a lot of meat on them. – There is a large supply of gourmet chickens, she says. Choice between food or soap When Nortura now closes the slaughterhouse in Elverum, it is proposed that the hens can be sent almost 30 miles south to Gårdsand in Mysen. They slaughter 4,000 ducks and 15,000 chickens a week, and have a slaughter line that can be used for hens. Elisabeth Østeberg is unsure whether they will have the capacity to receive as many hens as the producers are currently sending to Elverum. There they can slaughter 9,000 hens in an hour. She therefore fears that not all the hens can be sent there. General manager of Gårdsand Harald Bjerknes has no comment on how much capacity they have to accept hens. BREEDING HEN: The eggs from this hen become chicken that we eat. Today, the hen is also sent to slaughter for food production. The alternative is gassing. Photo: Frode Meskau / news The chairman of Nortura says there is a solution for the slaughter of hens in the decision to close down the slaughterhouse in Elverum. But she cannot say what kind of solution it will be. – We are in negotiations with someone who can take that job, says Trine Hasvang Vaag. She is unsure whether the Norwegian people will eat more chickens in the future, so that they will have to prepare for a larger production. – These are the types of assessments we have to take with us. So far it has been relatively limited, she says. – Does that mean that part of the chickens can be turned into soap, glue or concrete? – Not as a result of our decision, says the chairman of Nortura. We used to eat chicken for dinner, now they are thrown away and used in concrete. By rescuing a hen house with 7,500 hens from the rubbish, presenter Marit Evertsen Grimstad will focus on the hidden food waste and try to do something about it. Is it possible to get the hen back on the dinner table? (1:4)
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Nortura closes the chicken slaughterhouse in Elverum – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
