European meat processing sector concerned about impact of EU policies on EU food security and rural areas
The European Livestock and Meat Trades Union (UECBV) celebrated its 70th anniversary at its annual Conference and AGM, taking place in Dublin, Ireland. UECBV is the European voice of national federations representing the meat industry (slaughterhouses & cutting plants), meat and livestock traders. This year's special event took place from 19-21st October, with the conference taking place in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin on 20th October and was co-hosted by Bord Bia (The Irish Food Board) and Meat Industry Ireland (MII). The conference was formally opened by Charlie McConalogue TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, who welcomed the large attendance from the EU and Irish processing sectors.
Dr Karsten Maier, Secretary General of UECBV, commented: “Our special anniversary conference takes place in the context of many headwinds facing the European livestock and meat sector. Having emerged from the global Covid-19 pandemic in recent years, our sector now faces major increases in business costs such as energy and transport, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. Furthermore, the inflationary pressure on consumer spending power is resulting in reduced demand for higher value meat cuts and will create additional challenges for EU meat processors in the months ahead”.
“In the midst of these challenging times, our sector is ready to reinforce our role in sustainable food systems, and we emphasise our new environmental footprint work, our continued intensive efforts to further improve animal welfare along the supply chain and the high-level invitees of the European Commission and Irish government whom we continue to engage with regularly in our pursuit of further sustainability improvements. We wish to also recognise and congratulate Teagasc for their meat science conference running alongside our event, which focusses on the important role that meat plays in a balanced diet”.
John Murray, Director of Meat, Food & Beverage Bord Bia – The Irish Food Board, said: “The two key themes of our conference this year are sustainable nutrition and food security, issues that we know will dominate the meat industry for years to come. In the context of our growing global population, it is imperative that the European meat industry continues to strive to further reduce the emissions associated with its production. Today, we will hear from an expert panel of speakers who will outline the importance of meat as part of a balanced diet, we will hear details of how Origin Green, the worlds' only national food and drink sustainability programme, verifies the sustainability credentials of our food, and how customers and consumers increasingly want to understand how their food is produced”.
Philip Carroll, Chairman of MII, noted: “The second half of our conference will focus on the crucial topic of food security and how to balance sustainability targets and initiatives with continuing to feed our European and global populations. We strongly believe that food should be produced in those countries and regions where it is best suited to doing so, whilst still working towards reducing the emission intensity of our production. The European meat processing sector has strong sustainability credentials and the European Commission must work with, and support, the sector to achieve our sustainability targets as outlined in the Farm to Fork strategy, while not undermining future food and nutrition security”.
The European Livestock and Meat Trades Union (UECBV), founded in 1952, is the EU voice of national federations representing livestock markets, livestock traders (cattle, horses, sheep, pigs), meat traders (beef, horsemeat, sheep meat, pig meat), and meat industry (slaughterhouses, cutting plants and meat preparation plants).
Brought together within the UECBV are:
an international association i.e. the European Association of Livestock Markets (AEMB),
fifty-two national or regional federations in twenty-four of the twenty-seven Member States of the European Union, as well as Japan, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
In total, some 20,000 firms of all sizes and 230,000 jobs are represented within the UECBV through its national member federations.
From traditional advertising to digital tools such as Newsletter and Direct Email Marketing. Let's build together the most effective communication strategy for your growth.
Find out
From traditional advertising to digital tools such as Newsletter and Direct Email Marketing. Let's build together the most effective communication strategy for your growth.
Find out