Feeding the problem (Greenpeace, 2019)
Shows concentration of animal production across Europe, and where subsidies are going
Over 71 % of all the EU agricultural land (land used to grow crops – arable land – as well as grassland for grazing or fodder production) is dedicated to feeding livestock. When excluding grasslands, and only taking into account land used for growing crops, we see that over 63 % of arable land is used to produce animal feed. (similar to WWF, 2022)
Taking into account CAP payments based on farm size, as well as payments that support production of livestock directly, between € 28.5 billion and € 32.6 billion go to livestock farms or farms producing fodder for livestock – between 18 % and 20 % of the EU’s total annual budget.
Using the Farm Accountancy Data Network we estimated the share of production in the pig, poultry and dairy market held by the largest farms (with a standard output of € 500,000 or more) in eight European countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. The Farm Accountancy Data Network provides the only microeconomic dataset on farms that is harmonised across Europe.
Interestingly, as of 2016 there was not large concentration of dairy in Europe.
The research found that 71.2 % of European farmland in 2017 was used for the production of fodder for the livestock sector. This percentage, encompassing both cropland and grassland, has been stable since 2007, varying slightly between 70 % and 72 %. When we exclude grassland, we find that 63% of cropland feeds livestock.
An element that needs to be considered is that EU member states can dedicate up to 13 % of their direct payments budget to support specific production sectors, via a mechanism known as ‘voluntary coupled support’. An analysis by the European Commission of the sectors currently covered by coupled payments in the various member states shows that 73 % of these payments specifically benefit the livestock sector. About 41 % of voluntary coupled support goes to the beef and veal sector, 20 % to milk and milk products and about 12 % to the sheep and goat meat sector. If one considers that 10.6 % of coupled payments are dedicated to protein crops, and at least half of which are used as feed for livestock, the amount of coupled payments devoted to livestock increases to about 78 %. € 4.2 billion per year is used by member states as voluntary coupled support.
Could not calculate rural development funds subsidies