Eurogroup participates in policy debate on sustainable production and consumption of food

Posted on 19/10/2011

Eurogroup today attended the policy debate: “Sustainable Sourcing: a business imperative, a consumer request?” organised by Forum Europe to raise the profile of animal welfare.

The event focused on the sustainable sourcing and consumption of food in the EU and the current challenges faced by the food industry, but we were pleased to learn that animal welfare is becoming a major issue in the sustainable sourcing debate. However, when asking whether there was a clear strategy to adopt in order to counter the currently increasing global meat production and consumption (20 percent in just the last 10 years according to a new study), no clear answer was provided.

Participants in the debate included leading food industry players such as McDonald’s Europe and well known NGOs the European Union Food Information Council (EUFIC), the Rainforest Alliance as well as delegates from the European Parliament and the Commission. Eurogroup will continue to work with industry and policy thought leaders to maximise animal welfare as well as discovering new horizons and approaches to sustainable sourcing.