Warsaw Appeal for Europe’s Implementation

In response to the Denver Call for Action, European agricultural organisations from all species value chains and participants to the XI Beef Forum in Warsaw direct this appeal to the leading stakeholders in the livestock sector. The aim is to mobilise the sector towards reenforced sustainable development and to strengthen public trust in livestock farming and downstream value sectors including processing and retailing, which is affected due to years of misinformation campaigns targeting the sector.

The livestock production sector is currently facing unprecedented pressure:

• Criticism from well-organised special interest groups (SIG): Narratives promoted over the years by these SIGs and instrumentalised through many NGOs and vocal media channels that are advocating for them, are largely based on oversimplified and biased one-sided messages, and are eroding public trust in farmers and livestock-derived products such as meat dairy and eggs.
• Political reaction: Pressure stemming from these narratives has led to the introduction of a plurality of political, regulatory and quasi-voluntary initiatives limiting livestock production and advocating for reduced meat, dairy and egg consumption in so-called “sustainable diets”. This happens even though there is limited scientific evidence to support such diets, and significant scientific evidence that shows the negative consequences the reduction of animal-sourced foods would have on public health and environmental performance. 
• The need to reenforce public reputation and social license to operate: These developments demand proactive, collaborative actions from all participants in the livestock sector to improve communication and build narratives rooted in scientific evidence, emphasising the role of livestock production in sustainable agriculture, nutritional food security and food affordability.
• Shifting geopolitical environment: Changes in the global geopolitical context return the priority of European resilience in livestock production. Furthermore, as a global innovation centre, the technologies and practices developed in Europe serve to improve the sector’s performance worldwide.

• Strengthening collaboration within the supply chains:
  • Uniting farmers, processors, retailers and artisanal producers across all species value chains to develop joint actions that address environmental and social challenges and opportunities.
  • Promoting effective mechanisms for knowledge-sharing and the exchange of experience.
• Active and effective communication:
  • Creating unified, positive, scalable and easy to disseminate narratives about livestock production to counter misinformation and oversimplified messages being disseminated.
  • Highlighting the sector’s contributions to environmental regeneration, biodiversity conservation, and food security.
  • Empowering consumers in discussions about the positive role of livestock in sustainable agriculture and nourishing diets.
• Emphasising the positive and important role of livestock for the environment:
  • Highlighting their indispensable role in nutrient cycling, soil health preservation, and biodiversity support.
  • Positioning farmers as stewards of sustainable agriculture, responsibly caring for the environment and animal welfare.
  • Drawing attention to that EU livestock contributes to global reduction of GHG emissions, as the sector has among the lowest GHG emissions per unit produced and keeps improving further.
• Promoting free and undiminished access to nourishing diets with livestock-derived products:
  • Emphasising that meat, dairy and eggs and other animal products hold an essential place in a nourishing diet.
  • Supporting efforts to reduce food waste
• Leveraging scientific evidence throughout all efforts described above.