Inheriting a broken system

In early July 2026, the European Commission published the EU Livestock Strategy and Protein Action Plan, which aim to strengthen Europe’s food system by reducing its dependence on imported protein feed. While having presented somewhat meaningful and important general ideas, YEE argues that the EU needs to take bolder action to ensure sustainable food systems for future generations.

In a system where nearly two-thirds of the protein consumed by EU citizens comes from animal sources, the problem isn’t simply that livestock farming is environmentally harmful, but that the EU is trying to preserve a model already failing to provide viable futures for many young farmers.

The EU has recognised the protein problem, but livestock still dominates

Of the 80 million tonnes of plant-based protein consumed in the EU each year, around 74 million tonnes are fed to livestock (farm animals raised for food production such as cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry[1]). As a result, livestock accounts for around 92.5% of all plant-based protein use (as in legumes, cereals and oil-based products[2]), even though the conversion rate of feed protein to animal protein varies widely. For example, even poultry and eggs, considered the most efficient sector, require 3.6 kg of feed protein for every kilo of animal protein produced. Cattle meat instead requires 15.9 kg of feed protein[3] – over four times as much! At the same time, the EU imports around 16.25% of the plant-based protein it consumes, leaving its food system exposed to global market fluctuations and supply chain disruptions[4].

Figure 1: The allocation gap of plant-based protein

The EU Livestock Strategy and the Protein Action Plan both recognise this challenge and seek to reduce Europe’s dependence on imported protein while strengthening food security.

The former focuses on making livestock production more efficient, sustainable and resilient. It aims to improve animal welfare, prevent and manage animal diseases, reduce environmental impacts and support the role of livestock farming in maintaining rural communities and ensuring food security across the EU.

The latter complements these efforts by increasing the production and use of protein crops grown within Europe. It promotes crops such as peas, beans, lupins and soybeans, while supporting innovation and more sustainable approaches to protein production and consumption. The plan also seeks to make the agri-food system more resilient to geopolitical tensions, market volatility and climate-related disruptions that can affect global supply chains.

Together, these two initiatives aim to strengthen Europe’s protein self-sufficiency, reduce import-related vulnerabilities, and improve the long-term sustainability and resilience of the agricultural sector, while also claiming to support farmers in adapting to future challenges.

Let’s dive deeper and see what was done well and what could be improved.

Taking steps in the right direction

Global agri-food systems face increasing pressures from droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events driven by climate change. As expected, these phenomena cause disruptions to global supply chains, emphasizing the need for the EU to decrease its reliance on protein imports and support the development of a sustainable internal production of plant-based protein.

Permanent grasslands and fodder, the main source of protein for EU livestock, represent 44% of utilised agricultural area[5], while livestock production accounts for more than 65% of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in the EU[6]. This could represent an opportunity to tackle the EU’s dependency on protein imports while decreasing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and land use. The answer relies on decreasing animal protein consumption within the EU and increasing internally produced plant-based protein consumption, valorising the EU’s plant-based food chains.

The EU Livestock Strategy and the Protein Action Plan do recognise the scope of the problem and seem to try to find solutions. The focus on promoting pulse consumption and awareness of its benefits, while improving the competitiveness of EU protein crops and alternative proteins, is where the Protein Action Plan most shines. Furthermore, the intention to advance research and innovation to strengthen protein systems’ resilience and production through the improvement of Europe’s crop strains is another strong virtue of the Plan.

A point in favor of the Livestock Strategy is the intention to increase animal welfare within the European Union, as well as the goal to promote products of EU origin. We should also note the recognition of rural areas of important livestock production and their dependency on the sector for their livelihood, as this is crucial to account for in a sustainable just transition to less animal-dependent diets.

A strategy that protects the status quo

At its core, however, the strategy avoids addressing the structural problems facing European agriculture, and ultimately the marketisation of the food that should instead sustain our social and ecological systems[7]. While the Commission’s documents seem to acknowledge some of the core concepts that agroecological movements have long been advocating for – such as territoriality, support of rural livelihoods, circularity and diversification of food systems – the model they reproduce is, in practice, still the same exploitative and profit-centered one that is inherently irreconcilable with the mentioned objectives.

A first core paradox: the documents acknowledge widespread land abandonment, and the failing generational renewal as retiring farmers struggle to find young successors. Yet, they do not address these issues directly. The strategy proposed, formulated through the language of competitiveness and securitisation[8], largely relies on technocentric fixes in support of corporate food production. That is the exact same model that puts increasing pressure on those farmers who cannot compete with the resources and power held by the large industrial farms which drive biodiversity loss and landscape degradation. Just a month after the killing of four agricultural workers as a consequence of the caporalato system in Southern Italy[9], the Commission’s golden ticket for a better food system is “ensuring the sector’s profitability[10]”, while it is exactly this framing of food as a profit-making commodity that enables such exploitation.

Figure 2: Extremely strong predominance of farmers aged 45 and above

In terms of animal welfare, the documents remain vague, without presenting concrete, legally binding provisions and timelines, and do not include all animals affected by industrial livestock production; they fail, overall, to demonstrate a political willingness to commit to the much-needed radical transformation of the sector. For example, promised revisions on cage-free housing and pig welfare remain delayed and surface-level without any guarantee that they will match the citizens’ demands for animal welfare.

Regarding the transition towards more plant-based consumption, the trend in EU citizens’ diets is headed in the wrong direction, with the increase in animal-based protein consumption and the gap between animal and plant-based protein consumption widening. In light of this, the Livestock Strategy and Protein Action Plan do not offer enough solutions to this worrying trend.

In addition, the EU Strategy on Livestock leans on the disputed ‘biogenic methane’ narrative and voluntary monitoring tools instead of firm, science-based reduction targets, which is especially concerning as livestock constitutes the EU’s largest source of agricultural emissions[11] and a major driver of ground-level ozone pollution[12].

Figure 3: Consumption Trends: no visible projection of reduction in animal protein

To quote Slow Food on the topic, “If we do not question the starting and ending point, making things more efficient changes nothing of substance. If anything, it will entrench the system we need to move away from”[13]. To seriously help build more just and resilient rural futures, while supporting the rural youth in the process, it is necessary to rethink the role that factory farming holds in our food systems and center instead the livelihoods and experiences of those actively working towards food sovereignty, bringing food production back into balance with the ecosystems we depend on.

All in all, instead of proposing a solution that will serve animals, rural communities, and the environment in a sustainable way, this Strategy reinforces the industrial model of livestock farming that aggravates the sector’s crisis. Even if the Protein Action Plan aims toward plant-rich diets and domestic protein crops, the Livestock Strategy pulls in the opposite direction, as the expressed commitments are vague and lack quantifiable targets that would allow the plant-based transition to occur.

A just transition must put young farmers at the centre

There is a clear generational equity crisis in the EU’s agricultural sector, as young and new entrants are being priced out of a system where land, capital and market power are concentrated in the hands of large industrial actors. Without binding targets, earmarked funding and a genuine redistribution of power away from industrial agribusiness, these commitments risk remaining too abstract to bring environmental justice for young people. As a youth network, YEE stands with other non-governmental organisations, such as the European Environmental Bureau, in pushing for more decisive and measurable actions within the EU’s agriculture.

The EU now has an opportunity to turn its recognition of the food system’s vulnerabilities into meaningful change. That means setting measurable targets for reducing livestock-related emissions, supporting the shift towards plant-rich diets, improving animal welfare, and ensuring young farmers can access land, finance and decent livelihoods. For YEE, a just agricultural transition must put young people and rural communities at the centre, not ask them to inherit a broken system.

NOTES

[1] Reducing the plant protein deficit of the EU – Agriculture and rural development

[2] Plant-based protein as animal feed – ScienceDirect

[3] eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52026DC0355

[4] Reducing the plant protein deficit of the EU – Agriculture and rural development

[5] Protein supply and demand

[6] Protein diversification — strategic risks and opportunities for sustainable food systems

[7] EU’s New Livestock Strategy and Protein Plan Lack Concrete Commitments

[8] The EU’s paradigm shift on cows – POLITICO

[9] From Calabria to Brussels: the system is working as intended • Agroecology Europe

[10] Questions and answers on the Livestock Strategy and Protein Action Plan

[11] EU agricultural emissions by source and projected emissions | Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture in Europe | European Environment Agency (EEA)