On Monday 30 June, the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture discussed ways of saving the ailing livestock sector.
MEPs debated the draft report by Carlo Fidanza (ECR, Italian) on the sustainable future of the EU livestock sector. The rapporteur is opposed to “any drastic restructuring” of the sector.
The European Commission is expected to present a strategy for livestock farming by the end of 2025, and MEPs believe that the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after 2027 should: - secure coupled support for ruminant livestock production without additional environmental conditionalities; - provide for a transitional period for any new support scheme after 2027; - update reference prices for market interventions.
During the debate, Mr Fidanza criticised “the ideology that demonises meat consumption” and called on the Commission to set up, as requested by Benoît Cassart (Renew Europe, Belgian), a high-level group on livestock farming, along the lines of the high-level group on wine policy.
Global demand for animal proteins is set to increase considerably between now and 2050, reinforcing the long-term relevance of the sector, whatever the production method (extensive, off-farm, etc.), the draft report underlines. It also advocates faster approval of alternative fertilisers, such as digestate and RENURE materials, calls for a review of the Nitrates Directive and advocates reciprocal standards in all trade agreements.
The draft report points out that “the scientific evidence, production scalability and consumer acceptance needed to support cellular agriculture as a viable alternative to traditional livestock farming are currently lacking”. The preservation of coupled payments (for ruminants) was also called for by Céline Imart (EPP, French), who criticised cellular meat and the dangers it represents.
Cristina Maestre (S&D, Spanish) stressed the need to provide funding for livestock farmers.
Benoît Cassart said that the draft report was going in the right direction, but made suggestions for additions on the creation of a rapid alert and response mechanism in the event of the spread of animal diseases, on generational renewal and on the need for greater coherence between the EU’s trade and agricultural policies.
For David Cormand (Greens/EFA, French), the draft report should not, as it does, advocate the status quo in favour of the industrial model of livestock farming. The distribution of value is not included in this draft report, which should also, according to Mr Cormand, denounce the unfair competition within the EU caused by the agri-food giants. Mr Cormand also mentioned the negative effects of free trade agreements.
Esther Herranz García (EPP, Spanish) criticised the Commission’s proposal on animal transport.
At this stage, the Commission has set up a working group on the livestock sector, which held its first meeting on 27 May (see EUROPE 13637/7). The next meetings are scheduled for 23 October and 11 December.
Link to the draft report: https://aeur.eu/f/hmw (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)