The European livestock sector is facing a growing number of concerns. These include the rising costs of energy, fertiliser and feed, as well as the growing economic impact of veterinary diseases (African swine fever and highly pathogenic avian influenza).
In Germany, the federal government wants to reduce the proportion of food of animal origin (up to 80% for meat) and to focus on a more plant-based diet. There is also still no agreement in sight within the coalition on several key agricultural issues such as gene editing and the animal welfare tax.
Nearly a dozen EU countries have joined Ireland in rejecting the European Commission’s attempt to link meat consumption to cancer in its new food promotion programme.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could have serious consequences for livestock farming in Europe. In this context of extreme vulnerability of a part of the agricultural world, the European Commission indicates that it will propose in the next few days “exceptional measures” to mitigate market imbalances.
The European Parliament approves the report on animal welfare, paving the way for new EU rules, and MEPs call for the current EU animal welfare rules to be harmonised and enforced more strictly.
EU Member States have approved the placing on the market of an innovative feed additive for dairy cows that reduces methane emissions.
The Commission continues to support the coordination of the research community on the development, testing and demonstration of carbon farming practices. An expert group, bringing together Member State authorities and stakeholders, will support the Commission in developing standards for the certification of carbon removals.
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The month of February was marked by debates in the European Parliament on wine consumption. The European Parliament’s rejection of rapporteur BECA’s proposal equating excessive alcohol consumption with moderate wine consumption is noteworthy, while there is growing concern about the international situation. The war between Ukraine and Russia threatens the wine sector, especially in Spain, Italy and Georgia, and adds further pressure to a sector that needs to recover from the Covid crisis and has been hit hard by the recent rise in energy prices.
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During the Plenary session of the European Parliament of February the House voted and approved the amended report on the EU Beating Cancer Plan: it considers all the steps of the diseases and the influence that diet and lifestyle have on health.
In a presentation, Italian ministers for Health, Agriculture, and Foreign Affairs formally presented the Nutrinform, the national Front-of-pack labelling system that informs about the nutritional value of packaged food.
Policies intended to reduce salt consumption in the population to improve general health have been proven effective in South Africa through a mandatory reduction regulation of salt in processed foods.
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Carbon Farming was one of the topics discussed by the Agri Committee during this month. Even if in agreement with the propositions of the Commission, MEPs raised their concerns over the methodology that would be used to put in place the certification system, how this system will be financed, how to monitor it, and the risk of increasing administrative burden.
From the Council, Ministers discussed and took position on the promotion policy of agri-food products amongst other things. They are strongly opposing the idea of alignment of this policy to the F2F strategy that would result in the loss of the promotional support to some agri-food industries.
A draft of the revision of the Sustainable use of Pesticide Directive has leaked the Commission’s services. The Commission intends to implement rules to face the need for the introduction of stricter rules to increase coherence among member States and have more binding effects on policies in individual Member States.
During the Plenary session of the European Parliament of February, MEPs voted on the report on animal welfare (Rapporteur: Decerle, FR, Renew), agreeing on the fact that standards should be harmonized amongst Member States and calling for more stringent rules.
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Some MEPs have sent a letter to the Commission ahead of the publishing of draft regulation on plants varieties obtained thanks to new genomic techniques, calling for further research and attention to safety. The 31 elected representatives asked the Commission to analyse in more details the risks related to new genomic techniques, pointing out that the Working Programme of the EU innovation programme Horizon does not foresee research in this sense. However, German MEP Lins, chair of the Agri Committee has declared that the EP is committed to foster research and to give concrete alternatives to farmers by 2030.
In England, the process of the revision of the legislation that aims to relax the legal context for research on new genomic techniques saw the scrutiny of the parliamentary committee of secondary legislation. The Lords pointed out that the draft law lacks of clarity on the general wider reform process, and on definitions.
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The proper treatment of farm animals is increasingly important to consumers, which is reflected in the desire to ban long transports and the transport of newborns. As a result, European livestock production (dairy and beef herds) is expected to decrease in the future – in line with European dietary trends, visible through the appeal of meat substitutes and to meet sustainability objectives – while global consumption is increasing. Furthermore, the European Union supports this shift towards a more plant-based diet. To increase transparency and trust, the French government has introduced origin labelling for all meat served in canteens and restaurants.
States are investing in their agriculture: in Italy, the finance law grants two billion euros to agriculture, fisheries and agri-food, in France, the amount of aid for cattle for 2021 remains stable, in Greece, 490 million euros are being invested in organic farming, including 130 million for cattle and sheep farming.
European livestock farming is particularly affected by the many diseases, especially animal diseases, present in the country: African swine fever, bird flu, bovine respiratory diseases and covid-19. Massive preventive culls have been imposed in France and Italy, as well as ostracism measures and bans on restocking. This, coupled with soaring energy and feed costs, makes the global market for animal products highly volatile. As a result, French egg companies are on their knees, beef prices are hitting record after record, milk prices are rising. As a result of this damage, many associations have requested emergency aid in France, Ireland and Poland.
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January marks the beginning of the six months rotating presidency of the Council for France. French Minister for agriculture exposed its priorities on the legislative initiatives, namely the advancement of the reciprocity clauses in international trade, the sustainable use of pesticides, and the initiative on carbon cycles. Wageningen University published a second study on the impact on the market of the Farm to Fork Strategy, confirming the decreasing trends already underlined by other similar analysis. These trends were discussed in a public debate in the European Parliament’s COMENVI. The EP approved as well a report on animal welfare during transport, calling for increased protection of animals in several conditions.
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The beginning of 2022 marks the occasion to look back 2021 and see that the global wine trade has reached its highest ever figure, with France consolidating its position as the world’s largest supplier by value, despite sales volumes significantly lower than those of Spain and Italy. Total champagne sales for 2021 are also expected to reach a new record of €5.5 billion. In addition, the transition to more sustainable production in the sector continues, with Maker’s Mark becoming the largest distillery to achieve B Corp certification and Absolut Vodka committing to being “fossil fuel free” by 2025.
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A study from UNICEF finds that children in the world are not fed correctly, calling for joint action on nutrition policy coordination. At the same time, statistics from the EU reveal that Europeans do not reach the recommended portions of fruit and vegetable daily. More evidence on the importance of a healthy diet show the reduced risk of blood cots and stroke risk.
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More and more crops that have been genetically modified are being approved for field experimentation, such as lettuce, rice, maize. Whereas in the UK political declaration are pointing at the direction of a more relax legislative environment for gene editing, in China, public authorities are about to draft new rules to ease the application and approval procedure for edited crops.
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