Tag: livestock

Balanced diet, economy, environment: livestock farming is an opportunity for Europe

Posted on - Posted by Farm Europe

Farm Europe welcomes the European Commission’s announcement of the launch of a dedicated work stream on livestock farming and wishes to contribute fully to its development by presenting its proposals for a renewed EU strategy for the livestock sector. Farm Europe believes that the European Union must turn the page on five years of preconceived ideas and an erroneous, pessimistic and negative view of livestock farming. In the face of nutritional, economic, climatic and environmental challenges, ‘Made in Europe’ livestock farming is an opportunity, both for our continent and for the planet. In the context of geopolitical tensions, the EU must secure its strategic autonomy more than ever. 

“An ambitious strategy for the EU livestock sector must be able to rely on a comprehensive toolbox for consolidating achievements, economic support to better protect and help the sector to bounce back, and targeted investment to meet the challenges and build the livestock sector of the future, capable of permeating all the territories of our continent, from less favoured areas like mountains to intermediate and more productive areas where the complementarity between crop and animal farming is an asset”, underlined Ettore Prandini, Chair of Farm Europe’s strategic committee on the occasion of the Conference on the vision for agriculture and food organised by the European Commission. 

The future strategy should allow to : 

  • Bring back production in Europe
  • Fully optimising the positive benefits of livestock farming
  • Invest and prepare for the future
  • Put an end to the frenzy of standards and instead focus on a strategy that creates added value and market segmentation
  • Fully value and contribute to the deployment of the bioeconomy 

These five basic principles should enable the livestock sector of the future to be economically resilient, at the heart of a genuine strategy of European agricultural sovereignty and, finally, fully committed to the fight against climate change, to animal welfare and to the protection of natural resources through a real valorisation of its contributions and an optimisation of its impacts, as well as a source of prosperity. 

They must also make it possible to build a common and shared vision at the level of the European Union, turning the diversity of the Union’s territories and know-how into an asset. Finally, they will be a fundamental lever for restoring the attractiveness of livestock sectors to a new generation of livestock farmers who are committed and confident in their future. 

To enable the construction of a solid consensus, we recommend to the European Commission to resume the approach that proved effective for the wine sector with the creation of a High Level Group by bringing together European officials, representatives of economic actors and representatives of the national ministries and regional authorities most involved in the future of livestock farming in the Union. 

Such an initiative should not only facilitate the emergence of a consensus, but also enable the development of a precise roadmap for its implementation over the next 5 years, providing the necessary visibility for economic actors shaken by the climate of uncertainty created by the orchestrated and instrumentalised negative campaigns of recent years. 

In this context, bringing together the results of recent work and reflections, Farm Europe has prepared its initial contribution to what could be a livestock strategy, in the form of a brochure highlighting that this sector is an opportunity for Europe and the importance of complementarity between the animal and plant worlds. This document is available here, and will serve as a basis for the future work of Farm Europe: 

125 organisations call for a new impetus in the EU food policy, valorising livestock farming

Posted on - Posted by Farm Europe

Farm Europe is delighted to have signed and sent, on behalf of 125 organisations representing the diversity of Europe’s livestock supply chains, a united appeal to the European Commission calling for a comprehensive, science-based EU Food Strategy that values animal protein and supports a resilient, balanced agricultural model across the continent.

The appeal highlights the essential role that livestock plays in ensuring food security, nutritional balance, rural vitality, and environmental sustainability within the European Union, as well as the fundamental complementarity between arable and livestock farming. It calls upon the European Commission to support diversity in EU agricultural production, including livestock, mixed farming and sustainable intensification methods that optimize resource efficiency without compromising food security or rural livelihoods.

Entitled “Nourishing Europe: The Importance of Animal Proteins”, the appeal urges EU policymakers to:

  • Develop a holistic EU Food Strategy based on the scientific method of experimentation, integrating both crop and livestock farming while ensuring fair treatment for all agricultural sectors.
  • Support scientifically based environmental assessments that consider the full life cycle of food products, avoiding misleading interpretations that unfairly penalise livestock farming, potentially encouraging imports and thus increasing emissions.
  • Support science-based nutritional assessments that confirm the importance of animal-based foods for human health, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and those with nutritional deficiencies.

The appeal also warns against the unintended consequences of policies that undermine animal protein, noting that reduced EU production would inevitably increase reliance on imports, exacerbate global emissions, and threaten the livelihoods of millions of European farmers.

With this initiative, Farm Europe and its partners signing the Appeal reaffirm their commitment to a future where agriculture is both productive and sustainable, and where Europe’s citizens have access to healthy, balanced diets grounded in scientific evidence and economic realism.

After the wine, a high-level group on sustainable livestock is needed

Posted on - Posted by Farm Europe

The recommendations adopted earlier this week by the EU High-Level Group on Wine highlight the tangible benefits of a multi-stakeholder approach, as emphasized by Farm Europe at the outset of this process. Bringing together diverse actors across the value chain, with a clear vision and a concrete strategy, is crucial for supporting the economic sustainability of strategic sectors in the EU and for charting a path forward.
A thorough understanding of the sector’s challenges — whether structural, climatic, or shaped by citizen expectations — is essential to developing effective policy recommendations and legislative proposals.
This significant outcome, along with the renewed approach, should serve as a guiding framework for the livestock sector as well, event if the challenges and solutions will be different.
Given the positive, concrete results from the HLG on Wine, along with the European Parliament’s political commitment to fostering a transparent, non-ideological debate on the livestock sector — exemplified by the establishment of the EP’s dedicated Intergroup — Farm Europe and Eat Europe believe it is time for the European Commission to launch a similar process for this sector.

As Farm Europe’s research shows, the livestock sector is at a critical crossroads. To address its challenges, we must take a scientific and evidence-based approach, focusing on both its economic sustainability and the public discourse surrounding it. This includes presenting, in an objective manner, not only the environmental challenges, but also the positive contributions of the sector:

  • Its role in the bio-circular economy, soil quality: manure and by-products produced by a cow are transformed into a positive and virtuous bioeconomy model as energy (biogas, biomethane, biodiesel), or as organic fertilizer (digestate, RENURE). Eighty percent of the water used in a cow’s production cycle is returned to the land, improving soil quality by enriching it with organic matter, just to give some examples;
  • The vitality of the countryside and remote areas, which, without a solid and profitable livestock sector, would be abandoned with dramatic consequences on the environment (erosion, fertility of soils, etc.) and the economy of those regions;
  • The production of high-quality, nutritious food, essential for balanced diets.

It is time for Europe to boost its animal sector to grasp its full potential, rejecting strategies that would lead to the sector being replaced by lower-quality imported proteins or by lab-grown proteins disconnected from natural cycles. The finalisation of the EU/Mercosur deal generates doubts about the double-standard approach by the European Commission.

At a time when producers are grappling with significant challenges, it is crucial to develop a renewed, shared agenda for the sector that is supported by all levels of government, from the EU to local authorities. The EU’s livestock model must remain economically viable while adapting to increasing societal and environmental demands. Key issues — such as health, biodiversity, climate and environmental impacts, economic potential, and the social fabric tied to livestock activities — must be addressed in a cohesive and integrated manner.

These elements should be fully incorporated into the European strategy to ensure a sustainable future for Europe, starting with the establishment of a dedicated High-Level Expert Group.