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Animal Task Force

ATF

The Animal Task Force promotes a sustainable and competitive livestock sector in Europe.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Elisabeth Werner (Director-General Agriculture and Rural Development)

10 Sept 2025 · ATF Vision and Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda

Meeting with Maria Walsh (Member of the European Parliament)

20 Mar 2025 · Sustainable livestock

Meeting with Valérie Deloge (Member of the European Parliament)

2 Dec 2024 · Bien-être animal et élevage durable

Meeting with Pedro MOIA (Cabinet of Commissioner Elisa Ferreira)

25 Jul 2024 · Meeting with Animal Task Force (ATF) representatives to present their platform, the work being developed, and their future events

Meeting with Dino Toljan (Cabinet of Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič), Lukas Visek (Cabinet of Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič)

24 Oct 2023 · Methane from livestock

Meeting with Wolfgang Burtscher (Director-General Agriculture and Rural Development)

13 Jan 2021 · Presentation of the upcoming ATF Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda

Meeting with Ines Prainsack (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides), Panayiotis Pourgourides (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides)

13 Nov 2020 · Exchange of views with the Animal Task Force on Farm to Fork, sustainable livestock systems, latest innovations and scientific finding as well as international partnerships.

Meeting with Lukas Visek (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

4 Nov 2020 · Speech on circularity

Meeting with Wolfgang Burtscher (Director-General Agriculture and Rural Development)

16 Sept 2020 · Livestock and the Green Deal

Meeting with Benoît Biteau (Member of the European Parliament)

15 Sept 2020 · Bien être animal

Meeting with Lukas Visek (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

9 Jun 2020 · Sustainable food systems

Meeting with Janusz Wojciechowski (Commissioner) and

5 May 2020 · To introduce ATF work and discuss on the Farm to Fork Strategy and how the livestock sector could evolve in the future.

Response to Farm to Fork Strategy

6 Mar 2020

The ATF foresees the future of European agri-food systems lies not on linear but on circular approaches, with an integrated and regenerative use of natural resources and associated agri-biomass. In a future European integrated sustainable food system, an evolution in the role of livestock is foreseen. A ”business as usual” approach is not sufficient to meet the challenges, a paradigm change is needed. Livestock has potential to take an active and central role in a biobased circular agriculture aiming to optimise the use of resources at farm, regional, national and even transnational levels while avoiding leakage of resources or pollutants. It also aims to contribute to the provision of nutritious, safe and healthy food in a way that also fits the societal demand for reduced environmental impacts of food systems. It has also a key role in providing services for the societies, like contributing to maintain a diversity of landscapes, and to contribute to the economic and social development of many regions in Europe. We encourage future development of livestock production systems from a perspective of ecosystem services together with holistic agriculture approaches that more closely link livestock and plant. This aims to better use and protect the properties of agro-ecosystems and to maximise the use of biomasses of plant and animal origins through recycling and cascading approaches. These holistic agriculture approaches also need to encompass the agro-ecological domain and would stretch to consumers' global health by integrating from the ecosystem of a healthy soil, plants and animals in good physiological and sanitary conditions and healthy humans. We believe that the share of protein of animal origin in sustainable diets that is nutritionally adequate, more respectful to the environment and culturally acceptable and affordable must be evaluated considering a holistic approach of nutritional recommendations and environmental performances. Management of animal health and welfare in the concept of One Health is a prerequisite for well-functioning circular and sustainable agri-food systems. Livestock is present in almost all regions in Europe across a wide diversity of production systems in terms of local, economic, geographical & sociological contexts. This diversity of production systems gives resilience to the entire sector. Therefore, there is a need to identify and implement solutions to improve the sustainability of every production system, meaning there is no “one size fits all” optimal solution. To accommodate this paradigm shift requires coordinated and integrated interdisciplinary research and effective, proactive translation into practice and policy making. Research and innovation have contributed substantially to make Europe’s livestock sector as competitive and efficient as it is today while producing a diversity of safe and nutritious food. Continued support for research and innovation in the livestock sector is needed to meet these challenges. The Animal Task Force promotes interdisciplinary research bringing together research groups with complementary expertise (feeding strategies, animal breeding and genetics, nutrition, physiology and health, technology, food evaluation, modelling, economics, sociology, multi-criteria evaluation). Research and Innovation should also involve a wide range of actors of the agri-food systems (farmers, upstream industry, machinery and robotics, dairy and meat industry) and of the territories. They should aim to improve all systems of production, including the sustainability of European intensive systems, low inputs systems, organic and agro-ecological systems. For more info, ATF Vision Paper, Feb. 2019.
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Meeting with Tom Tynan (Cabinet of Commissioner Phil Hogan)

29 May 2018 · The importance of Research and Innovation (R&I) supporting a sustainable and competitive livestock production sector in Europe

Response to Update of the 2012 Bioeconomy Strategy

12 Mar 2018

1. Livestock’s role in realising a sustainable circular bio-economy for Europe Taking active stake in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the European animal production sector has a major opportunity to contribute to more sustainable food and nutrition systems. European agriculture must be competitive on the global stage, but should also lead the way in environmental stewardship and ensure socially responsible European animal productions in a changing global world. In a global circular bio-economy, livestock have many valuable roles: - to provide sufficient protein-rich, safe and healthy food for humans with high nutritional and organoleptic values, responding to a diversifying demand, produced in a system that does not challenge human health, safety, and thus avoiding the double burden of over- and under-nutrition; - to regulate the ecological cycles and close the nutrient loop by recycling, as much as possible, biomass from humanly inedible resources, or otherwise not suited for human consumption, derived both from marginal lands or in mountainous areas and that are not able to produce plant products for human consumption and also using manure as a bio-resource; - to develop animal friendly rearing and production systems that meet the physiological and behavioural needs of farm animals; - to contribute to a more efficient agriculture by valorising food-chain by-products as animal feed and nutraceutical and using new protein sources for efficient and robust animals adapted to such new European feed sources; - to integrate new farming systems with automatic surveillance and registration of production, health and welfare of the individual animals for better management thereof, for better genetic improvement, for reduced emissions and for proper handling of manure; - to improve soil fertility (structural stability, organic matter content and biological fertility), by the use of grassland and proper spreading of manure; - to provide raw material for renewable energy and valuable by-products (e.g. leather); - to provide ecosystem services linked to the vitality of diverse territories, employment in rural area, landscape and biodiversity preservation and cultural heritage. Livestock systems would need to be discussed with the society and adapted to the diversity of regional and economic contexts. This diversity can be considered a reflection of the agricultural heritage and as such represents an asset to be protected. The society should be aware of the social and ethical value of the people working with and in these systems and the value of the individual animals living in these systems. 2. The importance of supporting innovation, sustainability and competitiveness in Europe’s livestock sector Research and innovation have contributed substantially to make Europe’s livestock sector as competitive, balanced and efficient as it is today. Continued support for research and innovation in the livestock sector is needed to meet the new challenges and to support the adaptation of these innovations in the corresponding farming systems. These challenges include the supply of nutritious, safe and healthy food, reducing environmental impact, making better use of resources, respecting animal integrity and contributing to human and animal health and welfare, meeting needs of consumers and contributing to a viable bio-economy in ways that are appreciated by the society.
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Meeting with Arunas Ribokas (Cabinet of Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis), Marco Valletta (Cabinet of Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis), Nathalie Chaze (Cabinet of Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis)

9 Dec 2014 · Animal Health