Europe will switch to plant foods?

According to a joint statement, there is a structural shortage of protein in the EU while the demand for protein continues to grow; therefore, urgent action at the European level is needed to achieve sustainable domestic production.

Stakeholders in the European protein value chain called on the European Commission and EU Member States to promote the cultivation and use of European vegetable protein domestically.

In a joint statement by COPA&COGECA, Euroseeds and FEFAC, the organizations responded to the EU Council's declaration to improve food security by reducing the EU's dependence on key imported agricultural products and inputs. In order to become more self-reliant, the Council proposed to increase the production of vegetable proteins in the EU.

In a statement last week, the agricultural organizations called on the EU Commission to "take the lead in promoting the domestic cultivation and use of European plant protein" and added that there was "no simple and easy solution to overcome the EU's shortage of high-protein foods." Organizations also do not believe that Europe will achieve self-sufficiency in the short to medium term, especially if there is no access to best-in-class breeding methods, plant protection products and fertilizers.

The organizations said that coherent European and Member State policies are needed "to achieve a sustainable EU protein plan and offer European farmers new ways to adapt supply to changing demand" and to ensure the competitiveness, high quality and sustainability of the European vegetable protein sector. As such, they called for a range of measures to increase domestic protein production in order to reduce dependence on imports, increase the diversity of crop uses, and reduce the carbon footprint.

These measures should include a consistent and innovation-friendly framework, provide long-term incentives to stakeholders, develop a balance sheet to track production and consumption of plant-based dietary protein, support the development of national feed protein balance sheets, and educational communication with consumers.