The livestock sector has probably been one of the most questioned in recent years. Although numerous environmental associations had been warning for some time about the impact of the current model on the planet, the debate definitively opened in 2015, when a report from the World Health Organization (WHO) fell like a bomb on a sector that, in Spain accounts for 25% of the food industry, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
The WHO placed red meat in Group 2A as “probably carcinogenic”, which means that there is limited evidence that allows the consumption of red meat to be associated with the incidence of colorectal cancer. There is limited evidence when there is a positive association between exposure to the agent and cancer, although other explanations cannot be ruled out. Processed meat, however, has been in Group 1 since 2015, among the “carcinogenic to humans” agents, at the same level as tobacco or alcohol. To all this we must add statements such as those made shortly after the appearance of this report by the Minister of Consumption at the time, Alberto Garzón, who urged the population to reduce the consumption of meat and dairy products and to intensify the consumption of legumes. This gave rise to the response of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who responded to Garzón's statements by saying that "where there is a steak cooked to the point, that is unbeatable."
All this occurred at the same time that environmental associations warned about the close relationship between the current livestock model and the climate crisis. The head of Greenpeace's Agriculture and Livestock campaign, Luís Ferreirim, explains it: “It is urgent to make a transition towards a model that can continue providing meat but in smaller quantities. This involves reducing the industrial livestock herd, something that goes beyond slowing its advance and involves reducing the existing one. It is urgent to move towards a model of extensive and ecological livestock farming throughout the country." To do this, "we must start by not consuming so much meat and derivatives and follow the recommendations of the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (Aesan), which urges to eat 375 g of meat per person per week, at most," explains Ferreirim, who recalls that currently "consumption is still double, although happily it is going down."
This would be, broadly speaking, the situation in which the livestock sector finds itself, which has faced some setbacks in recent times. Such as the approval in 2022 of the Royal Decree establishing Basic Standards for the Management of Bovine Farms, a regulation that, as is often the case, was assessed as insufficient by environmental organizations and as excessively restrictive by part of the sector. One of the most controversial points of this law was the prohibition of the construction of the Noviercas macrofarm (Soria), which intended to exploit 23,520 animals, twenty times more than what the current royal decree establishes.
Against this backdrop, the livestock sector is working to adapt to both environmental demands and new consumer needs. The sector is probably facing one of the most complicated moments it has ever gone through, although with the certainty, ultimately, that products of animal origin will continue to be fundamental in the diet of the world's population in the future.
The European strategy 'From Farm to Fork', promoted by the European Commission, is a comprehensive program that aims to achieve a sustainable food system. This involves implementing a series of measures such as ensuring a neutral or positive environmental impact, stopping the loss of biodiversity and guaranteeing the affordability of food while generating fairer economic returns, among other aspects. This is an ambitious program, which aims to reduce the use of phytosanitary products by 50%, reduce the use of fertilizers by at least 20%, reduce the sales of antimicrobials used in livestock and aquaculture by 50%, and reach 25% of land allocated to organic farming in 2030.
This program has been received coldly by the sector, which warns of some of its possible counterparts. This is the case of José Friguls, president of Anafric, a national association that defends the interests of companies in the livestock-meat sector, and spokesperson for Somos Ganadería, an alliance of organizations from related sectors related to livestock farming united to exchange opinions. and information on communication topics related to livestock farming in Spain. "There are many questions that must be answered to ensure that the efforts made in the EU do not lead to climate or environmental dumping elsewhere," explains Friguls, who also denounces that "many hoaxes have been spread about the sector, which "affects employment and the economic development of so-called rural Spain." The spokesperson for Somos Ganadería considers, in this sense, that the European Union should allow "the livestock sector to be a key partner in the discussions on the 'From farm to table' program."
Despite numerous campaigns from various fronts to attract young talent to the livestock sector, generational change continues to be complicated. It is explained by Juana María Díaz Buenestado, a third-generation Iberian pig farmer in Villanueva de Córdoba, a town located in the Los Pedroches Valley. Díaz is part of COVAP, a livestock cooperative that has brought together more than 4,500 professionals for 60 years in the pasture of Córdoba, one of the largest holm oak forests in the world, with an area of close to 300,000 hectares. "The challenges are becoming more difficult and we ranchers have to be in continuous evolution. The generational change in the countryside is one of those challenges: making this profession attractive to young people, with the effort involved in running a ranch today. That is, producing to feed the world," explains Díaz.
When a debate reaches levels of tension such as those that have occurred in recent times between those in favor of meat consumption and those who question the current pattern, it usually happens that nuances are lost and models of meat tend to be lumped together. completely different business. Ferreirim explains it from Greenpeace. "We do not want to abolish the consumption of meat, since we know that it is part of a balanced diet, but rather reduce its consumption until we comply with the institutional recommendations and, little by little, achieve the establishment of an extensive and ecological livestock farming model that allows us to in the face of the current climate crisis. The evils of intensive or industrial livestock farming are very broad, both from the point of view of animal welfare and the consumption of resources, especially water. We must not forget that 66% of the agricultural area in Spain is destined to produce food for animals and that industrial livestock farming consumes in a single year the same amount of water as all homes do in 21 years," recalls the head of Greenpeace. Ferreirim urges, therefore, to "stop the advance of industrial livestock farming in its tracks. It is not enough to not give new licenses, but it is necessary to reduce the intensive livestock herd."
In this sense, the president of COVAP, Ricardo Delgado Vizcaíno, recalls that "extensive livestock farming has innumerable economic, social and environmental benefits." The pasture of Córdoba is, in fact, "an ecosystem inextricably linked to extensive livestock farming, unique in the world for its plant and animal wealth, carbon sink and creator of economic value in a framework of culture and tradition. In the pasture the Iberian pig, cattle and sheep in freedom, which coexist in perfect harmony with plant resources and wild animals, generating a unique biodiversity.
This means – continues Delgado Vizcaíno – that "extensive livestock farming is, ultimately, in a very good position to respond to many of the challenges that the agri-food sector faces, with animals that are raised in freedom and that generate and preserve incomparable ecosystems. The pasture and extensive livestock farming provide society with a series of public goods: serving as a brake on fires and climate change (CO₂ sink); improving soils and pastures; allowing for rich biodiversity (flora and fauna). , contribute to rural development and give rise to meat products of extraordinary differentiated quality.
However, for Delgado Vizcaíno, this model coexists in harmony with intensive livestock farming, which ultimately guarantees that there are resources for the entire population. "In order to provide sufficient food at reasonable prices, it is necessary to combine extensive livestock farming with other types of livestock farming that, being respectful of the environment and animal welfare, can produce quality food at affordable costs."
Friguls is pronounced along the same lines. "On the one hand, extensive livestock farming is capable of taking advantage of resources that cannot be used for other purposes and that could become fuel for fires, conserving and preserving the environment. On the other hand, intensive livestock farming optimizes the use of resources, achieving a lower level of emissions per kilo produced and being more efficient in the transformation of raw material into high quality protein".
The spokesperson for Somos Ganadería insists that "the resources used by extensive livestock farming are limited and very dependent on the weather, which limits production capacity. This limitation in order to be able to produce food has to be partially compensated with intensive livestock farming. that is not subject to weather problems, lack of food or attacks by predators.
However, for organizations like Hacendera, which have actively fought against the Noviercas project in Soria, intensive livestock farming should not take place in a climate crisis situation like the one we are experiencing. It is explained by its spokesperson Begoña Izquierdo. "It is essential to move forward to promote another agricultural, livestock and agri-food model that promotes small extensive farms, closer to the territory and that do not compete with humans for food. Extensive grazing livestock takes advantage of other resources that are not used and promotes the cleaning of the forests, in addition to producing local foods that ensure health and move towards food sovereignty,” he points out.
Improving the image in the eyes of the public is also one of the main challenges of a sector that, at times, has felt abandoned. "There are movements with different interests, often with little foundation and considerable exaggeration, that have deteriorated the image of the sector, relating it to the environmental impact, health, excessive use of natural resources or bad practices in breeding systems, aspects that They are not like that in the vast majority of cases," explains Delgado Vizcaíno.
The president of COVAP, a livestock cooperative that also has a dairy and animal feed division, points out that "all of our members' farms are certified in animal welfare by AENOR, we incorporate products such as Bovaer, an additive that reduces livestock emissions by 30%, in addition to being the first agri-food cooperative to obtain the Zero Waste seal, which certifies that more than 96% of the material waste from our factories is reused, and we have developed a new model based on renewable energies that will satisfy almost 100% of the cooperative's energy consumption".
Friguls agrees with this vision and is self-critical. "As a sector, we have not responded unanimously to criticism from the first moment. We have believed that the truth is on our side and we have hidden our heads. Meanwhile, others have been very clever, positioning an erroneous narrative against the sector. The "Interprofessional organizations are making a great communication effort to reposition meat where it should be: within a balanced diet in which you should eat everything."
Greenpeace denounces that 66% of agricultural land is dedicated to the cultivation of animal food and not, as it should be, to the production of food for human consumption. "We must not forget, furthermore, that the vast majority of GMOs are destined for industrial livestock farming," explains Ferreirim, who regrets that "agriculture is at the service of livestock farming and not of people."
According to José Pío Beltran, research professor at the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Plants (IBMCP), a joint center of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) and the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), the model based on The ecological agriculture and livestock farming advocated by a good part of the anti-transgenic and environmentalist movement is absolutely unviable. "The so-called Green Deal establishes that in 2030, 25% of all agricultural land in the EU will be organic. This will mean a significant loss in production, which means that more will have to be imported, without that that we import has the desired requirements. Of course we must defend traditional and local agriculture, but it is a model that must be compatible with other technologies that allow us to produce food for everyone and this involves the use of GMOs. With agriculture exclusively ecological is not achieved".
