A Bright Future for the EU Livestock Sector

11 February 2026
9:30 – 13:00

Brussels, Belgium & Online

Animal husbandry is at the heart of the EU food system. Yet, numerous visions coexist regarding what could be the future of our livestock sectors, and what measures are needed to steer such evolutions. The European Commission is committed to come out with a clear direction via the livestock workstream it launched in the aftermath of the Vision for Agriculture and Food Conference (8 May 2025)It is crucial to build on and contribute to such a process with robust data and quantified scenarios to support a well-informed debate, looking at all three dimensions of sustainability: economic, social and environmental – including animal welfare

The French Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) and its PATHWAYS partners have been exchanging closely with stakeholders of the French meat sector; throughout this 3-years process, they have come out with four scenarios for the future of the French meat sector: business as usual, efficiency first, feednofood, and rural renaissance.

These four scenarios depict the French meat sector by 2035, 10 years down the line, showing what would it take to get there, and discuss both the risks and feasibility of each of these scenarios. What French meat actors can and will do cannot be thought of independently from what is happening in the rest of the EU – both from an economic and policy perspective –therefore four scenarios are framed within the broader EU perspective.

The presentation of these scenarios will be followed by two roundtables with key actors of the French and EU livestock sectors. 

Date: Wednesday, 11 February 2026 | 9:30am – 13:00pm
Location: Brussels Press Club, Rue Froissart 95, 1040 Brussels  

Livestreaming link: coming soon!

Please click the button below and register by 4 February 2026.  

Agenda

Time  

Session

9:30–10:00  

Welcome Coffee & Croissants  

10:00-10:05 

Opening Remarks 

10:05–10:30  

Quo Vadis Europa? Four Scenarios for the French Meat Sectors  

Pierre-Marie Aubert, Director, Agriculture and Food Policies, IDDRI 

10:40–11:30  

Policy & Research Insights 

To what policy challenges / bottlenecks are these scenarios pointing out? What should be the role of research to overcome these?  

Representative from DG AGRI   
Representative from Animal Task Force 
Representative from a Member State  

11:30 – 12:20 

Economic Perspectives from across the EU 

What do French scenarios tell us about the evolution(s) of the EU market? What are meat value chain actors doing in the EU to increase the sustainability of the sector?  

Representatives from the meat industry (France and EU level)
Representative from livestock farmers

12:20 – 12:30 

Closing remarks & Next Steps  

Laurence Smith, PATHWAYS Coordinator  

12:30 – 13:00  

Lunch & Networking 

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