Sustainable meat
EU Parliament committee calls for more support for on-farm slaughter of animals
Est. 4minLawmakers on the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee backed the Commission's proposal to give farmers greater flexibility to slaughter animals on the farm and thus reduce the need for animal transport, but called for more assistance.
Commission convinced on ability to stringently assess risks, safety of lab-grown meat
Est. 3minResponding to the concerns of a majority of member states on the potential impacts of the technology, Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said that the EU is on “very solid ground” when it comes to risk assessment and labelling.
Austria, France and Italy lead charge against lab-grown meat
Est. 3minVienna, Paris and Rome, along with nine other EU countries, are set to argue that meat grown in a laboratory is a threat to "genuine food production methods", a claim a diplomatic source told Euractiv is "exaggerated and premature".
Agri stakeholders slam minister’s agreement on EU plans to slash emissions
Est. 4minAfter months of back and forth, EU ministers finally settled on their negotiating position on a proposal to see the EU’s industrial emissions slashed, but their final agreement has not gone down well with farming stakeholders.
The Brief — Insects taste of elections
Est. 6minLast Friday, Polish conservative politicians opened a can of worms - about a can of worms. Insects as food is a controversial topic that has gained traction, mostly in the form of misinformation, in Poland and other EU countries.
German animal welfare label risks distorting EU market, critics say
Est. 5minThe German cabinet approved Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir's bill for a mandatory animal welfare label on Wednesday (12 October), but the opposition and farming associations warn of inconsistencies within the EU single market.
Brussels rejects German request to lift swine fever restricted zone
Est. 3minThe European Commission has rejected on Tuesday (30 August) Germany's request to put an early end to the restricted zone imposed by Brussels on Lower Saxony to mitigate the spread of swine fever due to a continued high risk of infection.
Germany asks Brussels to lift swine fever restricted zone
Est. 4minGerman Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir has asked the European Commission to end the restricted zone it imposed to mitigate the spread of swine fever in Lower Saxony earlier than planned.
Methane reduction in livestock farming facing test of implementation
Est. 5minDespite some options for the reduction of methane emissions from livestock farming being already available, the challenge now facing EU lawmakers is how to set up policy frameworks for the uptake of these tools and techniques among farmers.
Industrial emissions proposal criticised by farming sector
Est. 6minLawmakers and stakeholders close to the agriculture community accused the EU executive of being disconnected from reality and creating additional bureaucracy after presenting new rules to curb pollution in the industrial sector.
‘Invisible’ soy linked to deforestation hides in animal products, report shows
Est. 4minDespite relatively low immediate consumption, European citizens assume a high quantity of soy indirectly mostly because of its use as animal feed, a report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has found.
UK turns to EU for helping hand after Brexit butchers meat sector
Est. 4minBecause of labour shortages caused by Brexit, British meat producers have resorted to exporting animal carcasses to the EU for butchering before re-importing the meat, but the UK government has insisted this will be resolved via its domestic workforce.
Commission stands by €2 million EU grant for synthetic meat
Est. 3minThe European Commission, challenged by Italian EU lawmakers, has defended the move to grant €2 million from the EU's Recovery Fund to a research and development project designed to move forward in cellular agriculture and curb costs of lab-grown meat.
Probiotics one of the ‘last remaining tools’ to fight antimicrobial resistance
Est. 5minAs the EU moves to tighten restrictions on the use of antibiotics in the livestock sector, probiotics are rapidly becoming one of the last tools remaining in the toolbox for producers. But prohibitive prices continue to impede their uptake, according to an expert.
Greens wage battle against Commission over antimicrobials regulation
Est. 6minA new delegated act proposed by the European Commission to tackle anti-microbial resistance (AMR) has drawn harsh criticisms from the Green group in the European Parliament, who are calling for the use of antibiotics in animals to be restricted.
Insects on the menu for pigs, poultry after EU approval
Est. 4minThe European Commission has amended the EU's feed ban regulation to authorise the use of processed animal proteins derived from insects in poultry and pig feed, hoping to help create a "more sustainable feed chain", in line with its flagship food policy.
French egg industry backs chick culling ban, calls for EU-wide extension
Est. 4minAfter French Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie announced a ban on the crushing of male chicks, questions arose as to how feasible such a move would be, particularly regarding the cost and adopted technique. EURACTIV France reports.
Crying fowl: Ministers call for EU-wide minimum standards for turkey farming
Est. 5minEU agriculture ministers have called for the creation of EU-wide minimum standards for turkey farming, which, despite being the third most slaughtered animal, still lack specific legal regulations for their husbandry.
EU implements first animal welfare-based condition in trade agreement
Est. 6minIn an unprecedented move, the EU has included the first animal welfare-based condition in the Mercosur trade agreement, but stakeholders warned that this does not go far enough to save the controversial deal that is facing increasing opposition in Europe.
Knives out in France for ‘ersatz’ lab-grown foie gras
Est. 2minThe quintessential French pate delicacy of foie gras cannot be called as such if it is grown in a lab, an association said Monday (26 July), after a start-up launched a high-profile bid to grow the food from duck cells.
Germany, France call on EU countries to also ban culling of male chicks
Est. 5minFrance and Germany are now calling on other EU countries to follow their lead in banning the controversial practice of culling male chicks, which both countries pledged to end from January 2022. EURACTIV France and EURACTIV Germany report.
Stakeholders split over EU food promotional funding for meat, exports
Est. 5minStakeholders remain divided on promotional support for target markets and animal products, with NGOs calling for meat to be cut off cold turkey, while farmers argue no products should be off the table.
Commission backs ban on cages in farming in ‘historic’ move for animal welfare
Est. 6minThe European Commission has committed to working towards a ban on cages for farmed animals in what is being hailed as an historic move for animal welfare after a citizens initiative amassed more than one million signatures from across Europe.
MEPs overwhelmingly vote to ban cages for farmed animals
Est. 5minThe European Parliament urged the European Commission to make cages for farmed animals a thing of the past in a resolution adopted on Thursday (10 June), marking a first step towards a ban on cages by 2027.