At the XII International Beef Forum in Warsaw, Eat Europe called for a strategic, science-based action plan to secure a competitive, resilient, and sustainable livestock sector in Europe.

Speaking on the panel “Action Plan for a Competitive, Resilient and Sustainable Livestock Sector in Europe”, Paolo Di Stefano, Executive Director of Eat Europe, highlighted that the livestock sector is facing mounting structural pressures similar to those affecting the wider agri-food system. These include intensifying global competition, rising production costs, regulatory uncertainty, and declining output.

“Weakening livestock means weakening the entire agri-food value chain, rural territories, and Europe’s food security,” Di Stefano said. “The key question is not whether livestock should evolve — it already is — but where that evolution takes place: inside Europe or outside it.”

Eat Europe stressed that any credible action plan must be grounded in science rather than ideology. European livestock farming is among the most efficient worldwide in terms of food safety, emissions intensity, animal health, and productivity. Policies that disregard scientific evidence, the organisation warned, do not reduce global emissions — they merely export them beyond Europe’s borders.

The organisation also underlined the need to align innovation with natural agricultural production. Public investment, Eat Europe argued, should prioritise genetics, feed efficiency, animal health, precision livestock farming, and circular bioeconomy solutions, rather than lab-grown meat or synthetic alternatives.

Consumer trust was identified as a key pillar of sustainability. “Public acceptance is a strategic element of any livestock action plan,” Di Stefano said. “Trust cannot be built through stigmatisation or oversimplification, but through education and transparency — particularly regarding country-of-origin labelling and strict rules to prevent the imitation of meat denominations. Consumers have the right to clear information and honest choices.”

Eat Europe concluded that Europe’s food future depends on a strategic choice: supporting farmers, natural production systems, and territorial development, rather than increasing dependency on imports and artificial alternatives.

To achieve this, the organisation called for increased investment, stable policy frameworks, fair trade conditions, and long-term support for farmers as essential foundations of a sustainable and competitive European livestock sector.