Published in News
Europe Sets Its First Livestock Strategy: What It Means for the Meat Trade
The European Commission has adopted its first-ever Livestock Strategy and a Protein Action Plan, a package that could reshape how Europe produces meat, feeds its animals, and trades over the coming decade.
Martina Osmak
Director of Marketing
A Major Policy Move in Brussels
On 7 July 2026, the European Commission adopted the European Union's first Livestock Strategy. It came together with a Protein Action Plan. The two documents set out how the EU wants its animal farming sector to look over the next decade.
This matters for anyone who buys or sells meat in Europe. Livestock farming is a huge part of the EU economy, and any change in the rules can move markets, prices, and trade flows.
The Commission describes the sector as central to Europe's food security. According to its figures, EU livestock farming:
Employs around seven million people, often in rural areas with few other jobs
Runs across roughly four million farms
Generates about 400 billion euros in yearly turnover
Makes up close to 40 percent of the EU's farm sector value
The Commission also admits the sector is under real pressure. Farmers face low profits, rising costs, changing demand, and repeated animal disease outbreaks.
The Five Priorities of the Strategy
The Livestock Strategy is built around five main goals. Together they aim to make European livestock farming more stable and more competitive.
Crisis preparedness: better risk tools, a possible new insurance and re-insurance scheme, and stronger support for countries dealing with animal diseases.
Competitiveness: more focus on farm profitability, innovation, and fair income, plus efforts to open new export markets through trade diplomacy.
Sustainability: updated animal welfare rules for laying hens, young chickens (broilers), and pigs, with transition periods and financial help, and new methods to measure farm emissions.
Fit for all farms and regions: a plan to bring livestock back to areas at risk of being abandoned, and a roadmap for small or mobile slaughterhouses to cut animal transport.
Excellence: stronger EU origin labelling and quality recognition, so European standards are easier to see and reward.
Why Buyers and Sellers Should Pay Attention
Several of these points touch trade directly. The Commission says it wants imported products to meet standards closer to those in the EU, in line with World Trade Organisation rules. It also plans to push origin labelling and a new European Excellence scheme.
For traders, the key things to watch are:
New animal welfare rules for pigs and poultry, expected in stages from late 2026 onward
Possible pressure on imports to match EU production standards
Stronger EU origin labels that could shape buyer demand
New market openings from EU trade diplomacy
Cutting Europe's Dependence on Imported Feed
The Protein Action Plan sits next to the Livestock Strategy. Its goal is to reduce how much protein feed Europe buys from abroad.
The numbers show why this is a concern. In 2025, only about 25 percent of the oilseeds and protein crops used to feed EU animals were grown inside the EU. The plan aims to lift that share to 35 percent by 2035.
Europe still leans heavily on imported soya. In the 2024 to 2025 season, the EU imported around 13.4 million tonnes of soya bean and soya meal protein, mostly from Brazil, Argentina, and the United States. That dependence leaves farmers exposed to price shocks and political tension far from Europe.
The Commission also points to its neighbours. It notes that Ukraine produces about 13.5 million tonnes of plant protein each year. If Ukraine joined the EU, the bloc's plant protein self-sufficiency could rise from 76 percent to 86 percent.
Not Everyone Is Convinced
The reaction has been mixed. Many welcome the direction, but several groups say the plans are too soft.
The Good Food Institute (GFI) Europe praised the recognition that Europe needs to grow more protein crops. But it called the plan a missed opportunity, saying it lacks funding to scale up plant-based proteins and support farmers who want to grow crops for human food, not just animal feed.
The campaign group Fern was sharper. It argued that the Commission got the diagnosis right but failed to prescribe a cure. In its view, the strategy leans too much on technology and does not guarantee that public money will back pasture-based and mixed farming. Fern pointed to Denmark and the Netherlands as examples of countries trying deeper reform.
There is also a competitive angle. Reports suggest China is pushing hard to lead in plant-based meat and fermentation technology. Critics warn that Europe could fall behind if it moves too slowly on protein.
The Bottom Line
This is the EU's first attempt to pull livestock policy into one long-term plan. Nothing changes overnight, and many measures are still proposals rather than laws.
Still, the direction is clear. Europe wants a livestock sector that depends less on imported feed, meets higher welfare standards, and competes on quality. Meat buyers, sellers, and processors across the region should follow the next steps closely, because the details will decide how much these plans affect real trade.