On 1 December, the Danish EU Presidency brings together policymakers and stakeholders to Brussels for an animal welfare conference titled "Welfare of Farm Animals in the EU of 2050 – A Pathway to the Future". One thing is clear ahead of the conference: how we treat animals will define the resilience of our food system, our climate, and our communities.
Improving animal welfare is not a luxury, it is a necessity. It must be central to Europe’s vision for 2050.
For too long, factory farming and the use of cages have been seen as essential. Yet industrial systems make us less resilient. They are not only cruel for animals but also erode biodiversity, contribute to climate change, increase antimicrobial resistance, trap farmers in unsustainable, low profit operations and increase food insecurity across the globe.
It is undeniable that industrial animal agriculture is a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation. If we end factory farming, we’re not only treating animals with the respect and compassion they deserve, but we’re also doing the same for our planet.
And if the EU is to meet its legally binding target of becoming climate-neutral by 2050, transforming our food system is essential. We must consign outdated models to history and embrace regenerative farming to restore soil, protect biodiversity, and provide animals with a good life.
The EAT Lancet 2.0 report, gives policymakers a global reference for aligning nutrition, climate, biodiversity and justice objectives. It also reinforces what evidence increasingly shows, we need to shift to more plant-based diets and accelerate innovation and investment in alternative proteins.
We’ve recently seen the launch of the world’s first on-farm cultivated meat production unit in the Netherlands; this is exactly the sort of innovation we need to transform our food system.
Central to this transformation is a One Health, One Welfare approach. We must recognise the inseparable links between animal, human, and planetary health.
But policy must catch up. Europe cannot wait.
Urgent action is needed to address the suffering of millions of farm animals happening today. One example of a practice which must change is the use of high levels of CO2 to stun pigs before slaughter.
The European Food Safety Authority has said this causes pain, fear and respiratory distress. A recent report on the PigStun project produced for the Commission shows that better options exist. The Commission should now urgently ban the use of high levels of CO2 to stun pigs as this causes immense suffering to millions of pigs every year.
The EU’s animal welfare rules are more than 20 years old and need urgent modernisation. We cannot wait another 25 years for meaningful change.
We need legislation that phases out cages, effectively bans routine mutilations such as tail docking or beak trimming, and to introduce specific rules protecting the welfare of farmed aquatic animals.
This is our call for the Danish Presidency Conference which reunites today so many animal advocates, Commissioners and other institutional stakeholders: Europe has the opportunity to lead the world in building a compassionate, resilient, and innovative food system. The European Commission has the unmissable opportunity to do it right now with the revision of the animal welfare legislation.
The choices we make today will echo for decades. Let improving welfare - for animals, people, and the planet - guide the EU’s vision for 2050.
