Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben...lasst uns über das Töten reden

Reverence for Life ... let′s talk about killing

The butcher who loves the animals is a good butcher. What appears to be an ironic principle has been implemented by Karl Ludwig Schweisfurth making it possible again to say with a good conscience: "We must kill in order to live; we live of off other life."

After turning his back on the meat industry, Schweinsfurth founded the Herrmannsdorfer Landwerkstätten. Now a model for sustainable agriculture and food production, it aims to create a holistic, ecologic environment, giving the animals a decent life and achieving top results in health standards and quality. That alone was not enough for him though.

The "growing and reaping" of meat has to become a connected process one can see and understand again. This is the idea with which Karl Ludwig Schweinsfurth stages a slaughter ceremony amidst his symbiotic farm which offers the animals a free life in nature. Following the old, traditional butchery craft, he demonstrates how an animal can be led to death with care and respect – honouring life.

Source: 61. Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin (Catalogue)