Ecology

Buy meat from a supermarket, and you can probably choose between organic and non-organic. But with the non-organic products, you have no way of telling whether the animal was treated well, or was stuck in a pen with little room to move. Calls are growing for meat labels that show the conditions under which the animals are raised.

As part of its Green Deal, the European Commission has proposed a “Farm to Fork Strategy”. This is the EU’s most coherent attempt yet to respond to the fundamental challenges plaguing the food system. But much will depend on converting highgrand-sounding words into actual policies.

Lab-grown meat is a disruptive innovation that could help resolve sustainability and health issues related to livestock, as well as reducing the numbers of animals farmed. But the sustainability gains do not yet match expectations.

Adding insects to our menus could help overcome the world’s food-supply problems. But the industrial production of insects is controversial: would it be useful or dangerous?

Vegan and vegetarian alternatives to meat are gaining popularity fast – making them tastier for big firms, too. Competition is likely to flare up around in-vitro meat: start-ups developing lab-grown products are sprouting everywhere.

Civil society is a sometimes underestimated stakeholder in the food system. Supporting sustainable production and criticizing industrialized agriculture, it influences public opinion and habits and demands better policies and international solidarity. And it can hold governments and companies accountable for their actions, while offering solutions.

Young people in Germany – the “Fridays for Future generation” – eat less meat than their elders. Their attitudes and habits are likely to steer food consumption and policy in the coming decades. Results of a representative survey.

Dissemination package and social media visuals for the Meat Atlas 2021.

Green budgets refer to tools that aim to achieve environmental and climate objectives by analysing the environmental impacts of budgetary and fiscal policy choices. Budgeting can therefore be a tool to mainstream gender equality and environmental objectives at the same time. While taxation can also enhance gender equality and incentivise a green transition, this chapter  focuses on the budget side due to the revenue structure of the European Union (EU), in the context of the European Green Deal, the EU Budget 2021-2027 and the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

Electrifying European transport is a clear-cut way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In Denmark, the pioneering electric car ferry “Ellen” connects the port of Fynshav and the island of Ærø. European Mobility Atlas 2021 Chief Executive Editor Philipp Cerny interviewed Halfdan Abrahamsen from the Municipality of Ærø’s Energy and Environment Office.