Land.Luft is uncompromising when it comes to animal welfare. In the heart of Lower Bavaria, the organic farm provides pigs and cattle with a natural life. In addition to high-quality sausage specialties, the company produces jams and savory spreads at its second location in Transylvania.

A conversation with Isabella Wieselhuber from Land.Luft

What do you want to change with Land.Luft?

Our entire team wants to contribute to social change—to understand food as food again and to appreciate it. This is especially true for animal-based products. Following discussions about animal welfare and meat prices, our founding family made a decision in October 2016. We no longer wanted to criticize the existing system, but rather take action ourselves and change the husbandry and slaughter conditions for livestock. So, we built Land.Luft, an agricultural business focused on animal welfare and sustainability. This includes a closed cycle with home-grown feed. Today, with our focus on livestock farming, we are an organic-certified operation according to European standards.

You have a holistic concept. What exactly does that include?

We are at home in Lower Bavaria and in Transylvania. At both locations, we work according to the exact same principles: We are grateful for the fruits of the earth and utilize what it gives us. Within this closed cycle, we work in such a way that our animals are well. Our soils form additional humus, so they not only serve fertility but also sequester CO2. Our holistic concept naturally also includes ensuring that our employees work in good conditions and enjoy their daily work.

What exactly do you do differently from conventional animal husbandry?

For us, the well-being of people, animals, and nature comes first. Animal welfare is our driver. Our pigs and cattle are of higher value. We rely on 100 percent pasture grazing from birth, and for their entire lives. In doing so, we forgo vaccinations for fattening animals and, generally, the administration of medications such as antibiotics. Our mobile slaughtering directly on the pasture, without animal transport, spares the animals fear and stress. Our handcrafted organic meat and sausage specialties contain no phosphates or artificial additives. We manage our fields with care and only grow what we actually need for our animals or for processing high-quality food.

For us, there is no animal transport, and we slaughter the animals without fear.

So, do you grow the feed for the animals yourselves?

We are a Naturland-certified organic farm. We are at home here on-site in Lower Bavaria and at our second location in Transylvania. There, we grow grain, hay, and crops for our animals, among other things. Our pasture cattle and pasture pigs grow up on our vast meadows. In doing so, we have consciously chosen old, endangered livestock breeds. At the end of their lives, the animals are slaughtered directly on the pasture they are familiar with, free of fear and stress. We process and refine them in our own on-site organic butcher shops. With us, there is no animal transport. On our orchards and fields, we grow fruit and vegetables, which we harvest only when fully ripe. Directly on-site, we turn them into high-quality jam and savory spreads.

Why does craftsmanship meet modernity at your farm?

We work according to artisanal traditions and old recipes in a modern environment that allows us to operate economically. All our products are made by hand. We refrain from using any artificial additives. This makes every one of our vegetarian and animal-based products unique premium products. You can taste the craftsmanship and the natural quality. And you can taste that the animals had a good life, as they have built muscle on the pastures.

We are transparent in the production of meat and sausage products.

What are your plans for the future?

We want to get better every day at what we do. And we would like to multiply our approach of pasture-based farming and pasture slaughtering, thereby enabling more animals to have a species-appropriate existence. Our customers appreciate the honesty and transparency of our meat and sausage products. Often, consumers do not know where or how their purchased products are produced. At our farm, customers are always welcome to visit.

Do you have a favorite product and a recipe recommendation?

We love all our products because every single one is created with a great deal of craftsmanship and attention to detail, and tasted and fine-tuned together with our team. But generally, we love our meat and sausage specialties a little more than our fruit and vegetable products. They are the origin of our actions: meat and sausage products from 100 percent pasture grazing and pasture slaughtering without animal transport. For the benefit of people, animals, and nature. Land.Luft products can be eaten at any time of day: the jam for breakfast, the liver sausage for a tasty snack platter, or the antipasti with cheese and a good red wine. The products that Land.Luft produces are versatile. That is exactly what we love about them.