Up for the challenge

L to R: Alexander Anton, Norbert Lins, Paolo de Castro, Martin Hlávacek, and Martin Hausling Image: SChrist
With the theme of, “The Future is Dairy,” there was much to discuss at the European Dairy Association in Brussels, Belgium 7-9 November. Heads of several companies, ranging from FrieslandCampina to Lactalis and Arla Foods, detailed their moves to feed the planet while containing emissions from livestock and fending off those who decry the dairy sector as a polluting process, along with a revised CAP that is seen as less beneficial to dairy farming than it should be.
Giuseppe Ambrosi, the EDA president, opened the proceedings, noting, “We were and we are standing fully aligned behind the ambitions and the objectives of the EU’s Green Deal agenda. We did not see the EU Commission acting on the basis of some demands for the law making process: a science-based, impact assessed approach and a certain level of stakeholder involvement.” He noted that while the EU even publicised its launch of agricultural policies with a video of milk processing, the dairy industry has been asked to play less than an active part in the agenda, which “intends nothing less than to completely change the way we operate our businesses.”
He called on the assembled to “make dairy heard in the political space in Brussels from the very beginning of the next legislative term in July 2024. We simply cannot afford five more years in defence. When I say we, I mean the European lactosphére together with all those who want to reach the 2050 ambitions for our continent.”
As Jan Derck Van Karnebeek, CEO of FrieslandCampina said, “The way we do dairy in Europe, we can do it right, and we should fight and stand for it.” He further opined that the ways farmers operate is not always understood by politicians and government. “They need to be viable from the farmers’ perspective. Biodiversity and animal welfare are complex to navigate, but farmers have a vital role to play here. Sustainability is about doing the right thing by the planet, but it needs to be enabled by economics,” he added. At FrieslandCampina, “We reward for environmentalism and sustainable outputs are a structurally important part of the journey. I’m a bit of an optimist. Customers are awake to fact that the environmental impact has financial value, and I think that’s a good thing.”
He asked the assembled that they consider moving towards common measurements for the dairy supply chain in the areas of sustainability. “We should not be competing with each other on clever market claims. Rather, it should be on performance sustainability.”
Charles Brand, EVP for processing solutions and equipment at Tetra Pak, noted that dairy is a very big part of the company’s strategy, and it’s about enabling the transition to a more sustainable dairy industry. Tetra Pak is leading a global processing taskforce at the Global Dairy Platform. “It is important that legislators listen to our responsible voices, from producer to consumer safety,” he said, noting that recycling targets and packaging legislation is not uniform from country to country, and as a single market, the EU should have uniform laws. “it’s not acceptable for some parts of the market to have targets, while others do not. It is also important that legislators consider the entire supply chain.”
Thierry Clément, CEO of Lactalis Groupe, detailed what support for farming entails. “If we have a happier farmer with a good living, they can invest for a more normal life. We need to drive this by policy and by having the economy to support this, and to make sure we have contact with the dairy farmers, through the dairy chain and not through regulation.”
The issue of European herd size came up, and Peter Giørtz-Carlsen, the COO of Arla Foods, noted that, when the issue of nitrate emissions arose, often it immediately turns to the number of cows, and not to anything else that may impact these emissions. “Regenerative agricultural solutions should be explored in parallel,” he said.
Karnebeek agreed, noting there are government measures underway to reduce livestock numbers in the Netherlands, where FrieslandCampina is headquartered. “This may remove the availability of three million litres of milk, but what contingency measures are in place?” he asked. The question also becomes of mitigating the environmental impacts of the cows, and using best practice to ensure that the maximum amount of milk is produced with the smallest carbon footprint. “Output decreases should be the contingency plans,” after all the other measures have been taken, he stated.
Carbon credits
Carbon credits were a topic of discussion. Karnebeek did warn about the impact of carbon credit trading outside of the dairy supply chain: “The market mechanisms that have made carbon credits tradeable outside the dairy supply chain, this is a real risk and should be taken into account when dealing with them. Carbon sequestered by farmers could be bought by an oil company as part of its green agenda, and this is not a good idea.” The IDF’s president, Piercristiano Brazzale, weighed in, agreeing the credits should remain inside the sector and not go outside.
The sector, he reminded the audience, has to cover the increased population by 2050, and while the US and Pakistan may be able to cover some of the estimated 33 million tonnes shortfall for global dairy by that year, the EU will also have to cover some of this gap.
When looking at Ukraine, Arsen Didur, executive director of the Dairy Union of Ukraine, praised Lactalis for its continued dairy production inside the country. Clement thanked him and noted, “It is incredible what they are doing in Ukraine. When this is over, we agree we will invest, and we have a willingness to rebuild for the future – it’s an incredible country. They are true dairy heroes and it is a positive signal in the EU for enlargement report. Our best to you and your people.”
The MEP view
In the afternoon, it was the European MEPs’ turn to discuss the sector. Paolo de Castro, an MEP from Italy, pointed out that the new CAP didn’t seem to be thinking of the farmers when it was developed. “We all know that ecological transition is absolutely necessary, but we have the feeling it wasn’t built with the farmers and the agricultural sector, but against them. They keep pointing the finger at agriculture, and there is a lack of balance that we have never seen before between the different European commissioners.”
De Castro did come with some good news, on the finalisation of the new EU regulations on GIs. “GIs are one of the successes in EU history and they are a €90 billion asset that has been working very well. This will help it grow even further, and get stronger,” he noted.
He also observed that the GIs should “help us to get our food sector even closer to public opinion. We don’t have the same public opinion support that we used to have for decades. Previously, whoever attacked farmers in French, the French president would defend them, and this is no longer the case. There is also not one day that goes by without Italian commenting that farmers mistreat their animals. We need to re-establish the link between the public and the producer. If we don’t it only impacts our industry negatively.”
As Alexander Anton, secretary general for EDA, observed, “The cow is more than just a national treasure, it is our industry. Dairy GIs account for 10 per cent of the total issued, and they are ambassadors for European agriculture.”
Speaking of science
The final session was devoted to the science, discussing “Dairy Sustainability at Work.” The moderator, Sanne Dekker of FrieslandCampina, stated, “Climate change is already happening, and even our cows notice. Who is to blame for this? All of us, but polarisation and fighting about it doesn’t help. It is important to share our learnings, so we are working together on sustainability.”
Dr Wilhelm Windisch, of Technical University of Munich, reminded all, “Ruminant livestock is the key to sustainable agriculture. We are approaching the planetary boundary of the agricultural area. We cannot increase the size, as it is limited. It will be more limited in the future with climate change, as it takes away land.” We also have to stop competing with livestock on feeding, he noted. Another issue is the way livestock turns non-arable grasslands into food. For example, one-third of the wheat harvested is turned into bread, while the other two-thirds of the wheat is not edible by humans. The other way is to feed it to livestock, which then produces manure for fertiliser and enriching the soils. He called for 100 per cent use of biomass material, via both making of food products such as bread, and the rest being used to feed livestock.
He exploded the myth of cows being climate killers with methane. “In Germany, there are fewer ruminating livestock than in pre-industrial times. There is less of emission of methane from livestock production than in pre-industrial times. The carbon dioxide equivalents massively overrate the climate impact of European ruminants. It is a very strong greenhouse gas, but it quickly degrades. Methane remains constant, whereas the carbon dioxide emissions from fossil sources accumulates. Methane has a very quick half-life of only 12 years. This is not accounted for in the GMP 100 calculations. If we shot all the ruminants in Austria and Germany, we would have a reduction of less than one per cent. It’s nothing.”
Another myth is that too many ruminants ruin the environment. “The biomass will degrade whether you use it or not,” he stated. “The only thing is if we don’t use it, it will be a missed chance to produce food. If vegan, you need double the amount of area to feed a person. NGOs forget the evidence of the non-edible biomass.” Proper circularity of the food system is the key to feeding everyone, he stated. “Our challenge is to optimise feed value, efficiency and all the livestock management.”