Today, 27 newly released documents shed light on the significant pushback from industry lobbyists against recent advancements in animal welfare science. These papers challenge the latest scientific opinions issued by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Today, 27 newly released documents shed light on the significant pushback from industry lobbyists against recent advancements in animal welfare science. Obtained through Freedom of Information Requests, these papers challenge the latest scientific opinions issued by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the EU’s food safety watchdog.
Investigative journalist Thin Lei Win secured these documents as part of an in-depth investigation conducted last year, published by Lighthouse Reports in collaboration with The Guardian and other media outlets. The exposé revealed how the meat lobby exerted significant pressure on the European Commission and its agencies, contributing to a legislative standstill in the much-anticipated revision of the EU animal welfare laws, including the Commission’s commitment to ban caged farming.
The 27 newly released documents raise critical questions about the influence of industry lobbyists on policy-making in the EU. Tactics employed by Big Agriculture include aggressively dismissing scientific evidence. Notable excerpts from their communications include:
Olga Kikou, Director of Advocacy at The European Institute of Animal Law & Policy and organizer of the ‘End the Cage Age’ European Citizens’ Initiative, stated: “These new documents reveal the meat lobby’s aggressive attempts to undermine the robust scientific evidence on animal welfare presented by the European Food Safety Authority. Europeans have a profound concern for animal welfare, yet EU animal protection laws have been stagnant for over a decade, despite claims to the contrary. We commend journalists for shedding light on the industry’s dirty lobbying tactics. It is essential for us, citizens, to ensure that politicians prioritize the public interest over the demands of a select few, whose primary goal is to avert progress for the sake of private profits.”
The ‘End the Cage Age’ European Citizens’ Initiative gathered 1.4 million verified signatures from across the EU and is the only Initiative that prompted the European Commission to commit to implementing all its requests. However, the Commission failed to propose a ban on cages by the 2023 deadline, leading Olga Kikou and the six other organizers to take legal action against the Commission.
An open letter signed by more than 30 organizations was sent to Commissioner Hansen yesterday expressing concerns that the forthcoming Livestock Strategy will fail to recognize the scale of industrial animal farming’s contribution to global warming. Methane is the second largest contributor to present-day warming, after CO2 emissions – and in the EU, around 60% of all methane pollution comes from raising farmed animals.
Our new Omnibus Tracker offers a centralized, user-friendly overview of the scope of the European Commission’s ten “omnibus” regulations, which amend dozens of regulations and directives simultaneously, and how they relate to animal protection issues.
In her latest paper, our Legislative Advocacy Manager, Gabriela Kubíková, examines the legislation governing the welfare of chickens. She stresses the need for a more evidence-based approach to animal welfare law and policy, emphasizing the necessity of revising the current legislative standards – as well as entirely re-thinking the broader food system in which these and billions of other animals are exploited.
