The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has slammed a food promotion policy by the EU Commission which links red meat to cancer risks.
The commission has approved a budget of €186 million to promote EU agri-food produce both within and outside the union this year.
This includes encouraging consumers to have a more plant-based diet with less red and processed meat.
The EU said that this funding is a key dimension of its “green transition” towards sustainable food systems, while supporting farmers and producers.
The new policy follows a review of agri-food promotion by the EU to increase the focus on sustainable production and consumption.
EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said: “Our aim is to increase awareness of organic farming and more sustainable agricultural practices, coupled with the promotion of fresh fruits and vegetables, essential for healthy eating and balanced diets”.
EU Commission
Promotions that secure funding from the EU Commission this year will have to support the European Green Deal objectives and be aligned with the climate and environmental ambitions of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Farm to Fork strategy.
The commission also said that campaigns within the EU market will have to support Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.
This means that consumers will be encouraged to move to a more plant-based diet, with less red and processed meat and other foods, such as alcoholic drinks, which the plan says are linked to cancer risks.
According to the Farm to Fork Strategy, red meat includes beef, pig, lamb, and goat meat and all processed meats.
The commission said it will focus agri-food promotions outside the EU on markets that have “high-growth potential”, such as Japan, South Korea, Canada and Mexico.
ICSA
ICSA president Dermot Kelleher has slammed the EU policy as a “wilful misrepresentation of the actual research”.
“The EU seems to be blaming red meat consumption for increased cancer risk whereas the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) report on behalf of the World Health Organisation (WHO) only found a marginal increased risk in the case of processed meats. It could not find sound evidence regarding unprocessed red meats.
“It is important to note that the research actually suggests that additives and processes such as smoking meat are likely the issue in the case of processed meats. Even then, a substantial consumption of processed meat every day only led to a 1% higher lifetime risk,” Kelleher said.
He noted that an issue with many studies is that it is difficult to single out meat eating when other factors such as smoking or obesity apply.
“The reality is that the EU is taking a very ideological position on red meat that is not supported by incontrovertible evidence. A balanced diet with a focus on reducing or eliminating ultra-processed foods is still likely to be a better strategy.
“It is worrisome that the EU appears to be supporting highly processed plant burgers over real meat. Apart from the fact that it is not based on robust evidence, it is distorting fair competition and actually undermining highly nutritious food produced by EU livestock farmers,” the ICSA president said.
Kelleher said he wants to know if EU member state governments have sanctioned this policy and what position Ireland took on the matter.
“We need a lot more transparency around who is making these decisions and what lobbying is being carried out by big food corporations. Moreover, the investment by big international investors in plant-based food needs to be carefully examined,” he concluded.