Whole-carcass value creation is the practical core of craft sustainability

In a new commentary published by Fleisch & Co on 7 September, Ronny Paulusch places the sustainability of the meat craft before a basic question: what happens to the animal and the raw material before the discussion turns to buildings, energy or equipment? His argument is that an efficient cold store or heat recovery system cannot replace consistent use of the whole carcase.

Paulusch links craft knowledge to practices such as cutting, sausage making, cooking, curing, ageing and customer advice. He does not present these operations as a new technology, but as established tools for turning a broad range of cuts and raw materials into valuable food. In his view, the problem arises when demand is concentrated on a small number of premium cuts and the remainder is treated merely as difficult surplus.

The contribution is not a sustainability measurement or an environmental-footprint comparison. It is a professional position. That is exactly why it is useful as a reminder: technical indicators describe only part of the reality. The economic and food value of carcase utilisation also depends on skills, recipes, assortment design, costing and the ability to explain the product.

For butcher businesses, the practical consequence is that sustainability must be translated into the everyday offer. Less familiar cuts, properly costed preparations, clear cooking applications and sales advice that explains preparation and yield can create value where a logic focused exclusively on prime cuts sees a problem. Whole-carcass utilisation does not remove the need to improve energy, packaging or logistics; it requires those improvements to rest on a product whose value is used consistently.