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.
O artigo foi publicado originalmente em Farm Europe.
