Supported by a cross-sectoral coalition of industry leaders, EIT Food’s new and important report argues that the future of European beef and dairy is not about reductions, but about overall change.
The solution they propose is the “One Health” approach that combines environmental management, animal welfare and farmer prosperity, creating a system in which sustainability benefits everyone.
European livestock crossings
The European beef and dairy sector is at a critical crossroads.
They face a triple struggle of the urgent need to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, growing demands from consumers and regulators for higher animal welfare standards, and constant economic pressure to maintain profits in volatile global markets.
Livestock industry accounts for a staggering 96% of agricultural GHG emissions, primarily through intestinal fermentation and fertilizer management, and the sector is under tight surveillance.
However, this challenge is also a unique opportunity. The industry doesn’t start from scratch. From methane-reducing feed additives to precision agricultural data systems, innovative technologies have already been put into practice.
The central issue is recruitment and coordination. Finding reliable and scalable solutions is important as sustainability policies and incentives are unclear and fluctuating. Farmers are often left with the brunt of transition costs due to limited compensation, putting them in a precarious position.
To move forward, we need to fundamentally change our perspective. This means viewing the health of the planet, animals and the agricultural community as closely related.
“One Health” Lens: A Uniform Framework
The report is built on the “One Health” principle, an integrated approach supported by world institutions such as the FAO and the WHO. We recognize that human, animal, plant and ecosystem health is closely related and interdependent.
In practice, for the livestock sector, this means that environmental sustainability cannot be improved without ensuring the economic resilience of farmers.
Without healthy animals, we cannot eat healthy foods, and we cannot protect animal welfare without providing farmers with the tools and incentives to do so.
This approach requires integration of livestock health, farm sustainability, nutritious food options for consumers, and farm economic resilience.
To put this philosophy into action, the working group adopted a detailed value chain analysis. They used a joint digital platform to map the entire process from farm inputs to retail shelves, identifying specific issues and opportunities for intervention at every stage.
This exercise revealed that the most important leverage points for creating a Win-Win cluster are near three important themes.
Three Pillars for System Change
The first and perhaps most important pillar is the value of the farmer. The report emphasizes that without clear economic incentives and reduced management burdens, the transition will be at a dead end.
The main barrier is the administrative burden of reporting necessary to exploit the incentive, which is directly imposed on farmers. This is exacerbated by uncertainty about new technologies and patchwork of regional incentives that hinder scalability.
What is benefiting both proposed is focused on making sustainability simpler and more profitable. This includes adjusting incentive models to minimize administrative procedures, using automated data integration to simplify reporting, and considering outcome-based systems like New Zealand’s Fonterra, which rewards farmers at a higher price for sustainedly produced milk.
The central message is that to promote true buy-in, sustainable practices need to demonstrate that productivity, animal health and farm revenue directly improve.
The second pillar is animal health and welfare, repositioning it as a wise investment at the heart of One Health, not as a cost.
Promoting animal health through disease prevention is crucial for long-term sustainability and has a direct impact on human and environmental health.
Barriers include traditionally more emphasis on treatment than prevention, labor shortages, and the difficulty of quantifying the direct sustainability benefits of healthier herds on individual farms.
But the opportunity is profound. Healthy animals are more productive, require less antibiotics, and have lower emission strength per unit of milk and meat.
The report advocates a new focus on precision livestock farming to simultaneously monitor health and carbon footprint, and genetic strategies to increase disease resistance and resilience.
Preventing diseases allows farmers to simultaneously increase income, reduce environmental burden, and improve animal welfare. This benefits both typical One Health.
The third pillar is data reports. In modern agricultural environments, data is a sustainability currency, but data must be handled correctly.
Nowadays, farmers face the burden of collecting and submitting data, along with lack of trust in data protection. It also places an over-focus on carbon emissions, undermining other key indicators such as biodiversity, water and soil health.
The vision for the future is that data works for farmers, not the other way around. This includes using AI and external data sources to streamline collection, employing a more holistic perspective on environmental impact, and developing tools to automate data collection.
Accurate and accessible data is the key to unlocking the other two pillars. It enables a fair and transparent incentive system for farmers and provides a proof base for the economic and environmental benefits of improving animal health.
From theory to action: Four priority projects
Identifying a theme is another thing. Taking action is another thing. The EIT Food Working Group has established four concrete joint projects beyond discussion and is currently forming a consortium to promote implementation.
The first is animal feed testing to reduce greenhouse gases. This project focuses on the dual benefits of feeds.
The initiative aims to reduce methane emissions while improving livestock health and productivity by studying alternative resources such as willows and seaweed, optimizing grass species and promoting genetic improvements in feed conversion rates.
The goal is to create comprehensive best practice guides for farmers and create diverse income opportunities through increased efficiency.
The second project is a test of the Farmers Incentive System. Recognizing that current incentives are often flawed, this project will actively map, test and refine new models.
The company will develop a financial risk management tool and, importantly, will work directly to link sustainability measures directly to economic compensation, such as premium prices for products with proven sustainability and nutritional value. The results become a tested, scalable incentive model that proves that sustainability can support farmers’ incomes.
The third initiative is improving farmers’ skills in sustainable practices. To bridge the knowledge gap, the project will develop targeted training programs on regeneration practices and GHG reduction.
Utilize peer-to-peer learning and integrate One Health module into agricultural education through micro-credentials. Its aim is to provide farmers with knowledge that views sustainability not as a burden, but as a core component of business resilience and productivity.
The fourth is the One Health Best Practice Advocacy Group. Recognizing the complex regulatory environment, the project proposes the creation of Think and Do Tank.
This advocacy group develops policy recommendations to simplify farmer compliance, encourage sustainable practices, and serves as a key reference point for evidence-based advice, ensuring that best practices are communicated clearly and effectively from the policy level to the farm entrance.
Calling for cooperation and future roadmap
The report concludes with a clear message that sustained cooperation is unnegotiable.
The transition to a sustainable livestock system is complex and requires coordinated incentives, practical tools, and cooperation across the value chain, from feed producers and farmers to processors, retailers and policymakers.
Beef and dairy livestock industries are at a critical turning point in their sustainability journey, offering the opportunity to drive systematic change through innovative integrated solutions.
At the heart of this transformation is the active involvement of farmers, and farmers’ participation and buy-in are essential to ensure lasting impact.
Report recommendations provide a clear roadmap. They call for increased disease prevention through investments in veterinary care and early detection that can improve animal health, reduce antibiotic use, and reduce emissions.
They emphasize the need to optimize feed management with strategies that improve digestion, reduce methane and support animal health.
They then defend the promotion of farm-led best practices and argue that regenerative approaches must adapt to local circumstances and be built on farmers’ own knowledge and leadership.
Construction has already begun, but the doors remain open. EIT Food and its partners are calling for more stakeholders to participate in these prioritized projects or to promote new initiatives.
The vision outlined in this report is not about the issue that European beef and dairy products need to be solved, but about a future that will become a vibrant, sustainable and crucial component of a resilient food system, a system in which the health of the planet, animals and farmers is ultimately recognized as the same.
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