President of EAT Europe Speaks in Brussels at the First European Beef Sector Sustainability Symposium

At the First European Beef Sector Sustainability Symposium, held today in Brussels, EAT Europe’s President Luigi Scordamaglia delivered a strong call for renewed ambition, coherence, and credibility in EU livestock and rural policy.

Addressing representatives of the European institutions, producers, and sector stakeholders, the President emphasized that European meat and milk producers are a driving force behind employment, food security, and regional vitality — but the sector is facing a triple crisis: demographic, economic, and environmental.

“Our meat and milk producers are a driving force behind employment and regional dynamism”, said Luigi Scordamaglia, President of EAT Europe. “However, the sector is experiencing a demographic crisis, an economic crisis, and an environmental crisis that must be resolved without delay. The European Union must turn the page on five years of preconceived ideas and an erroneous, pessimistic, and negative view of livestock farming. In the face of nutritional, economic, climatic and environmental challenges, EU livestock farming is an opportunity — both for our continent and for the planet. It is the most efficient in the world. In the current context of geopolitical tensions, the EU must secure its strategic autonomy more than ever.”

The President also expressed deep concern over the persistent lack of coherence and vision in European agricultural policymaking: “If the previous Commission made serious mistakes, the current one is not correcting them. For every step forward, it takes two steps back. European livestock farmers cannot continue to pay the price of political inconsistency.”

EAT Europe denounced the unacceptable cuts to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), underlining that they threaten the very foundation of European food production and rural vitality.

Moreover “the proposed allocation of only 10% of the NRPP to rural areas, as recently suggested by President von der Leyen, is not only insufficient — it is meaningless for the competitiveness of our farmers but is a real mockery of the European Parliament and farmers and demonstrates how much President von der Leyen has no real consideration for the agricultural sector”, Eat Europe added. “Funds that do not reach agricultural enterprises directly cannot strengthen Europe’s food resilience or sustainability. Europe’s farmers need investment, not rhetoric.”

EAT Europe outlined four key priorities to ensure the sector remains economically viable while continuing to invest in sustainability and innovation:

Reversing the decline in cattle numbers, reassessing and consolidating the agricultural budget, taking inflation into account and securing new EU funding to cover transition costs and international competition. In the same sense is key to secure coupled support without additional environmental conditionalities, modernize market intervention tools, strengthen European food autonomy and preserve the EU’s influence in export markets through active economic diplomacy and adequately financed promotion policies and encourage genetic improvement of herds to enhance environmental performance while maintaining or improving productivity.

Deploying the bioeconomy through full valorisation of co-products. The livestock sector contributes significantly to decarbonisation, energy autonomy, and circular economy goals. The carbon valorisation chain should include all livestock products — not just meat and milk — including the use of digestate and by-products to reduce emissions and dependence on synthetic inputs.

Ensuring efficient use of public funds. EAT Europe warns against financing non-market-driven technologies, such as lab-grown alternatives, that lack proven safety and consumer acceptance. “We believe it is essential not to present products such as lab-grown meat — whose effects on consumers are still completely unknown — as the solution to the planet’s challenges. Public funds should not be wasted on technologies that are not market-driven and may pose risks from a consumer perspective. The future of global food should not be entrusted to a few large private interests: food security is best safeguarded when production remains in the hands of farmers”. Furthermore, transparency and accurate labelling — including mandatory origin information and bans on misleading product names — are essential for consumer trust.

Guaranteeing a level playing field in international markets. European livestock farmers comply with the world’s highest food safety, environmental, and animal welfare standards. Yet these standards are not fully enforced on imports, creating unfair competition and undermining EU sustainability goals.

Addressing trade policies, Eat Europe highlighted that the EU’s ban on growth hormones (since the 1980s) and antibiotics as growth promoters (since 2006) reflects Europe’s commitment to responsible production. However, these high standards are not always mirrored in trade agreements or effectively controlled at the border.

“Reducing EU livestock production would not solve environmental challenges”, Scordamaglia warned. “On the contrary, replacing EU production with imports from countries with weaker regulations risks increasing global deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity loss.”

EAT Europe stressed that local, sustainable livestock production is essential for food security, environmental performance, and climate goals. Permanent grasslands in Europe play a key role in carbon sequestration, helping offset emissions and maintaining rural landscapes. Conversely, the loss of EU agricultural land and growing reliance on imports contribute to tropical deforestation and the destruction of high-carbon ecosystems abroad.

“If the EU truly wishes to reduce its global emissions and environmental footprint, it must support its own farmers — not outsource its production and its emissions,” concluded the President.

To discuss these keys issues and help frame future policy developments in the field of food and health legislation, with a focus on the sustainability of the European Food System, and to offer an inclusive platform for dialogue, Eat Europe will host a high-level event in the European Parliament: A New Pact Between Producers and Consumers, on the 3^rd of December 2025, hosted by MEP Esther Herranz García (EPP, Spain) and with the participation of the EU Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, Olivér Várhelyi.

This event will mark the official launch of Eat Europe in the European Parliament. It will feature the presentation of a new comparative study assessing the state of food sustainability across the EU, and bring together institutional representatives, academic experts, and agri-food stakeholders.

Discussions will explore what Eat Europe proposes as a renewed value-chain approach to sustainability, forging a new pact between producers and consumers—built on transparency, scientific integrity, and a long-term vision for a healthy and sustainable European food system. Register here.

For further information, please contact: info@eat-europe.eu