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European Livestock Voice

Background

European Livestock Voice (ELV) is an EU-wide campaign “to bring back a balanced debate” on meat and dairy, launched in 2019 by 11 livestock industry groups, including COPA-COGECA, the largest organisation representing European farmers.1“Homepage,” Meat the Facts. Archived August 29, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/y3PWZ

ELV runs an “information hub” titled “Meat the Facts” that claims to “offer some balance to the debate on the future of livestock.”2“Home Page,” Meat the Facts. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XXoaT The group has lobbied against the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy – Europe’s flagship initiative to reduce the carbon emissions and biodiversity loss from Europe’s farming sector.3“The Farm to Fork Strategy – What do studies say about its impact on the European Livestock Sector?,” Meat the Facts. Archived 24 August 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/GmL4a 

As of 2023, ELV’s campaign “Meat the Facts” has 14 partners and supporters from the livestock, fur, leather and animal medicines sectors, including European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation – the trade association for the feed industry – and Animalhealth Europe, the trade association for the animal pharmaceutical industry.4“Partners and Supporters,” Meat the Facts. Archived 24 August 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/MTHJA 

In March 2021, ELV and Italian initiative Carni Sostenibili, a joint project by three Italian meat industry groups (Associazione Nazionale Industria e Commercio Carni e Bestiame, Associazione Industriali delle Carni e dei Salumi (ASSICA), and Unaitalia) launched a series of videos in seven languages, expressing EU livestock farmers’ concerns that the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy is “based on erroneous preconceptions” and “does not really take into consideration [the sector’s] farming traditions and the huge progress already achieved.”5“Who We Are,” Carni Sostenibili. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/blJ3b 6“CAMPAIGN UPDATES,” Meat the Facts. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Ixfdp

Stance on Climate Change

In July 2023, ELV wrote: “It’s always easy to blame the cows for climate change and to compare cattle to some of the more polluting industries, but isn’t it time to stop making cows the scapegoats for all of our environmental challenges?”7“The Scapecow,” European Livestock Voice, July 6, 2023. Archived August 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/nJ4uQ

Studies have found that reducing meat consumption is crucial to lowering the food system’s greenhouse gas emissions. In March 2023, a peer-reviewed study published in Nature found that without concerted action, emissions from food production alone would push us beyond 1.5 degrees of warming – driven by meat, dairy and rice production.8Catherine C. Ivanovich, Tianyi Sun, Doria R. Gordon & Ilissa B. Ocko, “Future warming from global food consumption,” Nature, 6 March 2023. Archived 24 August 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/iigoV

In 2019, European Livestock Voice stated in an opinion piece published on the news site EURACTIV:9“‘Climate Change’ and ‘Animal Welfare’ cannot be reduced to simple slogans,” EURACTIV, September 26, 2019. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xGP9J

“Both climate change and animal welfare are complex societal and ethical issues, but in the hands of some interest groups this complexity is reduced to simplistic but very catchy slogans. […] While emissions or other impacts of livestock should neither be, nor are they being ignored, there are significant flaws in today’s public debate over livestock […]. [I]f our ultimate goal is a reduction in greenhouse gasses, and we otherwise accept the premise of people eating food, it is commonly acknowledged that the by far most effective way to do so is to replace fossil fuel energy sources with green alternatives.

The campaign has said that observing “climate change through a critical livestock perspective is perfectly legitimate” but that the debate around the climate impact of animal products “has come to a point where values are promoted as facts, and myths or prejudices about livestock are readily fuelled by interest groups.”10“‘Climate Change’ and ‘Animal Welfare’ cannot be reduced to simple slogans,” EURACTIV, September 26, 2019. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xGP9J 

Key Narratives on Meat and Dairy

ELV promotes a number of narratives to justify the meat industry’s business model. Find out more about how the meat industry is climate-washing its activities in our investigation. And you can read counter-arguments and criticisms of these narratives in our factsheet.

‘Animal agriculture isn’t a serious driver of climate change’

‘Animal agriculture’s climate impact is disputed’

In an opinion piece on ELV’s Meat the Facts website, Jerzy Wierzbicki, Chairman of COPA-COGECA, states that it is a “very misleading idea that science is univocal in matters of the environment or health when it comes to livestock.”11“OPINION PIECE – WHAT GREENPEACE’S LATEST REPORT WON’T TELL YOU ABOUT THE EU PROMOTION POLICY,” Meat the Facts. April 23, 2021. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YRdP6 The statement was made in response to a Greenpeace report that argues “how we produce and consume food in Europe is inextricably linked” to crises such as climate change, species extinction, and global health emergencies.12“Marketing Meat,” Greenpeace. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ZJDz4

‘Grazing supports biodiversity’

In September 2019, European Livestock Voice put up posters in Brussels metro stations to “challenge some thinking around livestock production in Europe.” According to the initiative, one of the posters “focuses on the link between biodiversity and livestock, as livestock production is often blamed for negative impacts on biodiversity, while its contribution to the bioeconomy or circular economy is often overlooked.”13“WE’RE IN BRUSSELS METRO STATIONS!,” Meat the Facts, October 10, 2019. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/d2aFq

The same month, the initiative released a YouTube video that claimed an “EU without livestock would lose […] essential habitats and biodiversity.”14“Meat the facts first!,” YouTube video uploaded by European Livestock Voice, September 23, 2019. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog. It has also shared a research paper on its website by Plantlife, a British conservation charity, claiming that “[l]ivestock grazing has a crucial role to play in addressing a dramatic decline in biodiversity-rich wildflower meadows” and “that totally abandoning land to nature will do more environmental harm than good.”15“LIVESTOCK GRAZING IS VITAL ‘INTERFERENCE’ TO BOOST BIODIVERSITY, NEW PLANTLIFE STUDY FINDS,” Meat the Facts. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ez5RW 16“Main Site,” Plantlife. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/br6PR 17Ben Barnett. “Livestock grazing is vital ‘interference’ to boost biodiversity, new Plantlife study finds,” The Yorkshire Post. July 5, 2019.  Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/afcyr

US-based environmental group, the Center for Biological Diversity, however, states: “The ecological costs of livestock grazing exceed that of any other western land use.”18“Grazing,” Center for Biological Diversity. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/DAcFu A 2020 study by researchers from the University of Alberta warned that scaling up livestock grazing to meet future food demand could threaten the biodiversity of herbivores and pollinators worldwide.19Alessandro Filazzola et al. “The effects of livestock grazing on biodiversity are multi-trophic: a meta-analysis,” Ecology Letters, May 5, 2020.Archived July 13, 2021. The idea of using cattle grazing to capture carbon in the soil has also been criticised by environmental scientists from the University of Oxford for offsetting only 20-60 percent of the total emissions, concluding that “grass-fed cattle remain net contributors to warming.”20Sally-Anne Stewart. “FOOD IN THE ANTHROPOCENE,” Oxford Martin School, May 2019. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ojXqS

‘European meat is environmentally friendly’

According to a spokesperson for ELV, the European livestock sector produces “meat in an efficient and climate-friendly way,” outperforming all other world regions except Russia and Eastern Europe.21“#MeatTheFacts, Birthe Steenberg: “When you make a choice, you also choose all the consequences,” YouTube video uploaded by Carni Sostenibili, July 1, 2020. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

However, sustainability groups GRAIN and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) suggest that “the large gains in ‘efficiency’ realised by industrial farming in the twentieth century will be hard to repeat without major ecological, social and health impacts.” The organisations describe the efficiency of intensive livestock production as “a myth.”22GRAIN and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). “Emissions impossible: How big meat and dairy are heating up the planet,” GRAIN, July 18, 2018. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/v0grw

‘Livestock convert inedible material into food for human consumption’

According to European Livestock Voice, grasslands “provide a significant role in fodder used to feed the livestock, converting grass into highly nutritious food” and that the “recycling or some say ‘upcycling’ of biomass from resources such as grass, straw and bran that are inedible for people is an important process.”23“OPINION PIECE BY EUROPEAN LIVESTOCK VOICE,” Meat the Facts, March 5, 2021. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/HB1mM 24“DOES USING LAND FOR ANIMAL FEED COMPETE WITH LAND FOR HUMAN FOOD ?,” Meat the Facts. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7GyD7

A 2018 Science study estimates that the production of animal-based foods requires 83 percent of the world’s farmland yet provides only 37 percent of global protein and 18 percent of global calories.25J. Poore and T. Nemecek. “Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers,” Science, June 1  2018. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/O6jDB According to a 2019 study by environmental scientists from Harvard University, transitioning to a more plant-based food production system in the UK has the potential to free up large areas of land currently used for grazing and animal feed production while improving the country’s carbon footprint and still meeting the population’s nutrition requirements.26Helen Harwatt and Matthew N. Hayek. “Eating Away at Climate Change with Negative Emissions,” Harvard Law School, April 11, 2019. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8aWUr

‘Plant-based diets do not solve the problem of climate change’

‘Dietary change is a misguided climate strategy’

In March 2021, European Livestock Voice stated in a press release: “As the UN Food Systems Summit approaches, we notice a push for synthetic, lab-grown meat from different opinion leaders outside of the farming community. […] To say that a diet free of ‘real meat’ and a Europe without livestock are answers to the challenges posed by climate change is inaccurate and could prove catastrophic for our nutrition, our territories, our environment, diversity and our culture.”27“OPINION: THE EUROPEAN LIVESTOCK SECTOR’S VIEWS ON THE RECENT PUSH FOR SYNTHETIC MEAT,” Meat the Facts, March 8, 2021. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9l5IL

ELV states on the Meat The Facts website: “From a climate change perspective, a world without livestock would likely not be as some may expect […]. A study in the US on this issue by animal scientists Mary Beth Hall and Robin R. White considered that the total removal of livestock in the US would represent only a drop of about 2.6 percent of total US emissions when considering the main side consequence of livestock abandonment.”28“THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVESTOCK,” Meat the Facts. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/prdK9

ELV backed up this statement by quoting a 2017 study by researchers at the Department of Animal and Poultry Science at Virginia Tech and the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center.29Robin R. White and Mary Beth Hall. “Nutritional and greenhouse gas impacts of removing animals from US agriculture,” PNAS, November 13, 2017. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/e85rQ The study has been criticised as misleading by environmental, nutrition, and epidemiology researchers for failing to take into account the impacts of land no longer being needed for animal feed crops, and for the “uncritical use of nutritional values and optimization algorithms” as well as a “highly unrealistic and narrow scenario design.”30Koenraad Van Meerbeek and Jens-Christian Svenning. “Causing confusion in the debate about the transition toward a more plant-based diet,” NCBI, February 12, 2018. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Bbst2 31Isaac Emery. “Without animals, US farmers would reduce feed crop production,” NCBI, February 12, 2018.  Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/0ExCF#selection-585.0-585.11 32Marco Springmann, Michael Clark and Walter Willett. “Feedlot diet for Americans that results from a misspecified optimization algorithm,” NCBI, February 12, 2018. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/CKhd9

In a May 2023 YouTube video on European Livestock Voice, Frédéric Leroy, Professor at Vrij Universiteit Brussels, spoke about the origins of anti-meat narratives being due to “ideological interferences”, which are “particularly present in urban centres such as Brussels, but also worldwide”.33 “Frédéric Leroy – Where does the anti-meat narrative come from?” YouTube video uploaded by user European Livestock Voice on May 4, 2023. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog He spoke about policymakers being “vulnerable to all sorts of ideological agendas” and “end up creating harm because they’re so blinded to open conversation [and] because of a certain ideological target”. He argued this results in many policy decision being “driven by non-factual conclusions”, such that policy developments “in the longer term may be harmful for the public interest”.

‘Less meat is wasted than fruit and vegetables’

ELV argues on the Meat The Facts website: “One simple way to reduce emissions – something that is often forgotten in public debates – is simply to limit and reduce food waste. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 40-50% of fruit and vegetables are wasted at source, while for meat/dairy the FAO estimates losses at 20%.”34“Environment,” Meat the Facts. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wLgLf

Studies have found “plant-based diets are also more climate friendly when they are wasted,” however, researchers from the University of Michigan showed that “fruits and vegetables which comprise 33 percent of food waste [in the U.S.], account for only 8 percent of carbon dioxide emissions,” while animal products “account for 33 percent of food waste by mass and 74 percent of carbon dioxide emissions.” 35Bingli Chai. “Which Diet Has the Least Environmental Impact on Our Planet? A Systematic Review of Vegan, Vegetarian and Omnivorous Diets,” Research Gate. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/GAqJt

‘Meat is needed for a healthy diet and to feed the world’

‘Meat is needed to feed the world’s growing population’

In 2019, European Livestock Voice argued in an opinion article published on EURACTIV that “[r]eplacing animal products with plant-based alternatives is not the universal solution to climate change” because such a transition fails to address “ethical considerations, for example food supply and security, also for developing countries.”36“‘Climate Change’ and ‘Animal Welfare’ cannot be reduced to simple slogans,” EURACTIV, September 26, 2019. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xGP9J

According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), a sustainable development organisation, feeding 10 billion people by 2050 without transitioning to a more plant-based global diet would necessitate the destruction of the world’s remaining forests and “agriculture alone would produce almost twice the emissions allowable from all human activities.”37Tim Searchinger et al. “CREATING A SUSTAINABLE FOOD FUTURE,” World Resource Institute.  Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/awSZe 38Damian Carrington. “Beef-eating ‘must fall drastically’ as world population grows,” The Guardian, December 5, 2018. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Ltffu

‘Eating meat is the consumer’s choice’

On campaign posters, ELV states: “We won’t tell you what to eat, drink or wear, but it’s good to hear the two sides of the story about livestock. Because when you make a choice, you also choose all of the consequences.”39“UECBV launched the European Livestock Voice campaign,” Fleischwirtschaft, October 01, 2019. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/F5GVi

‘Meat is an exceptional source of nutrients’

According to ELV, meat is “an excellent source of several vitamins, minerals, and essential micronutrients that can easily be absorbed by the body,” “meat has been a central component of our diet for millions of years,” and “processed meat products can be safely consumed as a part of healthy and balanced diets.”40“THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVESTOCK,” Meat the Facts. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/prdK9

Nutrition associations worldwide, including the British Nutrition Foundation, approve of meat-free diets. According to the American Dietetic Association, “appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.”41“Plant-based diets,” British Nutrition Foundation. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Afaf1 42Winston J Craig, Ann Reed Mangels and American Dietetic Association. “Position of the American Dietetic Association: vegetarian diets,” PubMed. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/JLA9T

‘Innovations in animal agriculture will tackle climate change’

‘Emissions intensity reduction is a climate solution’

In the initiative’s FAQ section, European Livestock Voice notes that “[t]here are indeed a number of ways through improved animal management to reduce emissions from livestock according to the FAO.”43“Environment,” Meat the Facts. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wLgLf It cites a report from the FAO which “estimates that partially reducing the emission intensity gap within existing production systems through improved management could cut emissions by about 30%.”44“Key facts and findings”, FAO. Archived November 25 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Ouapb

Sustainability non-profits GRAIN and IATP argue that “arguments for emissions intensity reduction in the absence of targets to reduce the livestock sector’s total emissions are dangerous,” and “that the large gains in ‘efficiency’ realised by industrial farming in the twentieth century will be hard to repeat without major ecological, social and health impacts.”45GRAIN and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP). “Emissions impossible: How big meat and dairy are heating up the planet,” GRAIN, July 18, 2018. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/v0grw

‘New grazing techniques can sequester carbon’

European Livestock Voice quotes an article authored by the President of the U.S.-based National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Jerry Bohn, and published the industry outlet Beef Magazine, stating that “pasture and rangeland, through proper management, can actually reduce the amount of carbon and more than offset the short-lived methane emissions of our cattle.”46“PRESS ARTICLES,” Meat the Facts. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Dozdl 47Jerry Bohn. “Beef is, and always will be sustainable,” Beef Magazine, February 24, 2021. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/TMqj5
Matthew Hayek, environmental scientist at New York University, argues the claim that methane can be climate neutral is a case of “creative accounting.”48Jenny Splitter. “Can You Trust a Pro-Beef Professor? It’s Complicated,” Undark, March 2, 2021. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/e4RpW

‘Livestock management innovations will cut emissions’

European Livestock Voice states that “[t]hanks to new precision agriculture and advanced agronomic practices the European livestock sector will continue to be able to provide more sustainable and affordable animal-sourced food products.”49“Environment,” Meat the Facts. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wLgLf

The organisation regards improved animal feed, health, and husbandry as well as advanced monitoring techniques as opportunities to reduce the sector’s emissions and asserts that “livestock excels in green energy sources like biogas and biofuels.”50“Environment,” Meat the Facts. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wLgLf 51“‘Climate Change’ and ‘Animal Welfare’ cannot be reduced to simple slogans,” EURACTIV, September 26, 2019. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xGP9J

Precision agriculture has also been promoted by agrichemical industries as a solution to climate change, despite questions about the efficacy of the techniques as a climate strategy.

Stance on farm antibiotic use

Overuse of antibiotics is driving a rise in antibiotic resistant bacteria. 35,000 people die from antimicrobial resistance every year in the EU, according to the European Centre for Disease Control. By 2050 the number is expected to grow to 10 million worldwide – more than currently die from cancer.52“35 000 annual deaths from antimicrobial resistance in the EU/EEA,” European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 17 November 2022. Archived 24 August 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XGejd

According to the United Nations, 70 percent of all antibiotics are used for animals, the majority in farming.53“Tackling Drug-Resistant Infections Globally: Final Report and Recommendations,” The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, chaired by Jim O’Neill, May 2016. Archived 24 August 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 54“Healthy environment is key for antibiotics to work,” United Nations Environment Programme, 25 November 2020. Archived August 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9Jb6s

European Livestock Voice has acknowledged that it is “necessary to use antibiotics more sparingly in all areas to address the rise in antimicrobial resistance.” However, it also states:55“AMR Doesn’t Respect Borders: An Interview with Nancy De Briyne, FVE,” European Livestock Voice, November 18, 2022. Archived August 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/vU7jF 

“In the veterinary field, antibiotics represent a fundamental means for controlling infectious diseases, contributing to the improvement of animal welfare and the safety of food products of animal origin. When the use of these drugs, also in human medicine, is excessive or uncontrolled, they are likely to trigger the phenomena of antimicrobial resistance, an issue on which far too much disinformation is circulating. […] we need to work together and stop blaming the livestock sector, which has made a lot of effort.” 

ELV has also written that, “animals have the right to be treated in the best possible way to avoid unnecessary suffering” when they get sick, and that “it should always be up to the veterinarian to decide the optimum way to administer medication, which remains under veterinary control and prescription.”

In April 2022, the group stated: “Animal health and welfare standards are higher in the EU than anywhere else in the world. The EU has stringent inspections on residues of veterinary medicines and contaminants in animal source food and an overall monitoring system, which show a compliance of the sector with all safety standards close to 100%.”56“European Livestock Farming Shouldering its Responsibility to Keep Antibiotics Working,” Meat the Facts, April 1, 2022. Archived August 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IIH8X

Europe has the strictest laws on farm antibiotic use worldwide. However, data suggests that animal antibiotics are still overused in Europe. According to a 2022 report published by the civil society organisation European Public Health Alliance, group treatments accounted for around 87 percent of veterinary antibiotic sales in Europe in 2020. The report pointed out that countries with the highest percentage of antibiotics given as group treatments tended to be high farm antibiotic users overall. “A possible explanation for this is that these high users are relying on antibiotics as a routine preventative treatment and using these particularly important medicines as management tools, rather than as treatments that should be kept in reserve for when they are really needed,” it said.57“Ending routine farm antibiotic use in Europe. Achieving responsible farm antibiotic use through improving animal health and welfare in pig and poultry production,” Cóilín Nunan, January 2022. Archived August 24, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

The organisation has also downplayed the importance of antibiotic use in farming compared to in human medicine. The FAQ section of its website stated, “Animals consume 70% of all antibiotics in Europe – is this true? Whilst this number is technically correct, what does it actually mean? It’s a great shock figure that is often quoted, but the gross tonnage that is used to get this figure is a poor way to compare the use of antibiotics in humans and animals. The population biomass-corrected calculation indicates a lower consumption of antibiotics in livestock than in people in 18 EU countries.”58“Animal Health,” Meat the Facts. Archived October 11, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/LLoLK

In April 2022, it stated, “According to ECDC 75% of AMR-related infections come from hospitals and health facilities. Clearly, even if we stopped all antibiotic use in animals, the impact on the human antimicrobial resistance problem would not be significant.”59“European Livestock Farming Shouldering its Responsibility to Keep Antibiotics Working,” Meat the Facts, April 1, 2022. Archived August 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IIH8X 

Experts are clear that antibiotic resistant bacteria can transfer from animals to humans either directly, via handling or working with infected animals, or via infiltration into the environment through air or groundwater.60“Antibiotic Resistance – Linking Human and Animal Health,” Wagener, HC, in Improving Food Safety Through a One Health Approach: Workshop Summary, 2012. Archived August 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/6snIT

European Livestock Voice warns, “an even more stringent ban on antibiotics in animals than scientifically judged will have little effect on antibiotic resistance resolution. On the contrary, there is a high risk of a counterproductive effect. Dependence on a strictly limited number of antibiotics to treat animals’ infections will increase the pressure on bacteria, accelerating resistance to those few antibiotics available.”61“European Livestock Farming Shouldering its Responsibility to Keep Antibiotics Working,” Meat the Facts, April 1, 2022. Archived August 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IIH8X

Lobbying on antibiotics regulations

Governments and intergovernmental organisations have taken steps to curb antibiotic use on farms in recent years. For example, in 2022, the EU introduced new laws banning the routine use of antibiotics on animal farms and treatments of whole herds or groups, as well as the use of certain antibiotics that are critical for human medicine to treat animals.

European Livestock Voice has opposed calls for tighter EU restrictions on farm antibiotic use. 

In April 2022, it published a press release in response to a report by the civil society organisation European Public Health Alliance.62“European Livestock Farming Shouldering its Responsibility to Keep Antibiotics Working,” Meat the Facts, April 1, 2022. Archived August 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IIH8X EPHA”s report suggested a number of measures to ensure that Europe complied with laws implemented in January 2022, which banned routine group use of animal antibiotics. The report recommended setting stringent targets to lower levels of antibiotic use, restricting use of highest-priority critically important antibiotics, and changing husbandry practices to lower use, for example weaning piglets later and banning tail docking in pigs.63“Ending routine farm antibiotic use in Europe. Achieving responsible farm antibiotic use through improving animal health and welfare in pig and poultry production,” Cóilín Nunan, January 2022. Archived August 24, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

European Livestock Voice stated in response to the report, “calling for ever more restrictive policies on antibiotic use for animals is nonsensical, especially in the EU where 94% of Eurobarometer respondents say it’s important to protect the welfare of farmed animals.64“European Livestock Farming Shouldering its Responsibility to Keep Antibiotics Working,” Meat the Facts, April 1, 2022. Archived August 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IIH8X

As detailed above, European Livestock Voice has also lobbied on the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy – its flagship plan to improve the sustainability of the food and farming sector, which includes a target to reduce by 50 percent the overall EU sales of antimicrobials for farmed animals and in aquaculture by 2030.

Funding

European Livestock Voice is a campaign part-run by COPA-COGECA and Animalhealth Europe. Information about the funding of the campaign by its 11 partners is not publicly available.65“CAMPAIGNS,” COPA-COGECA. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/odWb3

The annual cost of COPA’s lobbying activities disclosed on the EU transparency register was between €1,500,000 – €1,749,999 in 2019. COGECA’s lobbying costs were listed as between €1,500,000 – €1,749,999 in 2019. Neither organisation received funding from EU institutions during the last financial year.66“European farmers,” EU Transparency Register. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wcEs1 67“European agri-cooperatives,” EU Transparency Register. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ql7NK

Animalhealth Europe declared a lobby spend of €50,000 – 99,999 for the EU in 2021, according to its profile on the EU Transparency Register.68“Animalhealth Europe,” EU Transparency Register. Archived August 30, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/KiDLZ

Lobbying

In March 2021, European Livestock Voice launched a series of videos about environmental, health, and economic aspects of livestock production in seven languages co-produced with Italian meat promotion campaign Carni Sostenibili, highlighting EU livestock farmers’ concerns over the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy, which aims to build a more environmentally friendly food system.69“Video Launch Event – 9 Paradoxes of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy,” YouTube video uploaded by European Livestock Voice, March 26, 2021. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog. 70“CAMPAIGN UPDATES,” Meat the Facts. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Ixfdp

In December 2019, the campaign organised a protest, bursting balloons “carrying common myths or misinformation [about the livestock sector] in front of the European Commission building,” according to a press release about the event.71(Press Release). “European Livestock Voice,” Fefac. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/J0rKc

In November 2019, the campaign sent a letter to members of the European Parliament, asking for MEPs’ support for an initiative of MEP Balázs Hidvéghi, a member of the Hungarian right-wing populist political party Fidesz and the European People’s Party (EPP), to create a European Parliament “Intergroup” on “Livestock and Livestock products,” which would aim “to restore a fact-based discussion on the EU model of production.”72“To: Members of the European Parliament,” Meat the Facts, November, 12, 2019.  Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/PmeBi 73“Balázs HIDVÉGHI,” European Parliament. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/G9qjn

The same month, ELV hosted a debate about the environmental impact of meat featuring Deputy Director General at the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Michael Scannell and communications strategist Florence Ranson, founder of EU affairs and communications consultant firm REDComms and former Director of Communications & Public Affairs at the European food industry umbrella organisation FoodDrinkEurope.74“DECLARATION OF SUPPORT,” Meat News. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/JFXcK 75“CAMPAIGN UPDATES,” Meat the Facts. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Ixfdp

In September 2019, MEPs and livestock farmers Alexander Bernhuber (EPP, Austria) and Jérémy Decerle (Renew Europe, France) supported the launch of the campaign by hosting a 90-minute presentation in the European Parliament. The campaign was further supported by MEP Mazaly Aguilar (European Conservatives and Reformists Group, Spain) in 2019.76“CAMPAIGN UPDATES,” Meat the Facts. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Ixfdp 77“European Livestock voice initiative,” ENAJ. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ldLBI 78(Press Release). “European Livestock Voice,” Fefac. Archived July 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/J0rKc

Affiliations

As of December 2023, the 14 Partners and Supporters of European Livestock Voice are:79“Partners and Supporters,” Meat the Facts. Archived 24 August 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/MTHJA

  • AnimalHealthEurope, which represents European manufacturers of animal medicines, vaccines and other animal health products
  • Avec, which represents the European poultry meat sector
  • Clitravi, which represents the interests of the European meat processing industry
  • COPA-COGECA, which represents European farmers and European agri-cooperatives
  • COTANCE, which represents the interests of the European leather industry
  • European Forum of Farm Animal Breeders (EFFAB), which represents animal breeding and reproduction organisations in Europe
  • Euro Foie Gras, which represents the European foie gras industry
  • European Dairy Association, which represents the European dairy sector
  • ERA, which represents the European rabbit meat sector
  • FEAP, which represents the European aquaculture sector
  • FEFAC, which represents the European compound feed and premix industry
  • FEFANA, which represents specialty feed ingredient businesses in Europe 
  • FUR EUROPE, which represents Europe’s fur sector
  • UECBV, a European livestock and meat trading union

ELV’s “Meat the Facts” campaign also recommends the following 24 national-level member organisations and initiatives based in Austria, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Germany, France, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK:80“Partners and Supporters,” Meat the Facts.Archived 24 August 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/MTHJA

  • Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), UK
  • AgrarMarkt Austria (AMA), Austria
  • Assosuini, Italy
  • BMPA – British Meat Processors Association, UK
  • Carne y Salud, Spain
  • Carni Sostenibili, Italy
  • Cellule d’Information Agriculture, Belgium
  • Die deutsche Geflügelwirtschaft, Germany
  • European Livestock Voice, Estonia
  • farmantibiotics.org, UK
  • Fokus Fleish, Germany
  • Initiative Tierwohl, Germany
  • la-viande, France
  • LAND.SCHAFFT.WERTE., Germany
  • Love Pork, UK
  • Meat & Dairy Facts, Ireland
  • Meat the Facts, Portugal
  • Proviande, Switzerland
  • Somos Ganadería, Spain
  • Ruokatieto, Finland
  • Schweinefakten, Germany
  • Simply Beef & Lamb, UK
  • Vlees.nl, Netherlands
  • Vlees.bl, Belgium

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