A communication gap between citizens and farmers in the modern livestock sector is increasingly widening and the general sentiment is shifting from an overall good opinion of those who keep feeding the world toward a negative view on farmers’ role in today’s society.
According to livestock sector stakeholders, this communication gap is leading to misinterpretation of the reality of animal farming, if not intentional disinformation and the sector is making efforts to avoid or mitigate unpleasant effects like the so-called agri-bashing and violence against animal growers.
Some criticism is well-founded and there is a general consensus on the need to reconsider all aspects of modern animal farming in order to better address animal welfare and environmental issues.
But breeding practices are already changing in this direction. The next challenge is how to better communicate these changes to the general public and bridge the gap between farmers and citizens.
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EU livestock sector hits back at criticism on animal farming
Over a dozen livestock stakeholders have been campaigning across metro stations in Brussels as well as online, in a bid to fight back against the narrative propagated by NGOs and environmentalists on animal farming. At stake is the very conception of modern animal farming practices in Europe.
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Animal health the biggest challenge in livestock farming, researcher says
Even more than climate change, animal welfare will be the main challenge for the future of livestock farming and will lead to reconsider the entire system around the health of animals, a French farming researcher told EURACTIV.com.
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‘Climate Change’ and ‘Animal Welfare’ cannot be reduced to simple slogans
There has never been a shortage of polarisation in the debate over farm animals, but when the livestock production debate was connected to climate change the polarisation turned into stigmatisation. European Livestock Voice is a coalition of different animal sectors with …
