Health

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Health Consumer Protection Directorate General

• What Can The Community Action Plan achieve for
  European Consumers

Andrea Gavinelli Unit D2 Animal Welfare and Feed
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The story so far

• First EU AW legislation adopted in 1974
• EC Treaty Protocol enters into force 1999 pay
  full regard to the welfare of animals as
  sentient beings
• White Paper on Food Safety full integration of
  AW into EU food chain policy, farm to fork
  approach
• CAP reforms cross compliance and meeting
  standards principles
• The Community Action Plan on the protection and
  welfare of animals 2006-2010

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The AW Action Plan

• Communication from the Commission to the European
  Parliament and the Council that proposes five
  main areas of action
• Outlines a range of actions for the period
  2006-2010 covering not only farm animals, also
  laboratory and wild animals

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If you improve animal welfare

• 80 believed it would certainly result in better
  animal health
• 74 believed products would certainly be more
  ethically acceptable
• 58 believed would certainly result in better
  food quality
• 57 believed would certainly result in better
  food safety

EU Web consultation Winter 2005
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Consumer concerns about animal welfare and the
impact on food choice FAIR Project 2001

• Consumers
• Use AW as an indicator of other product
  attributes, such as food safety, quality and
  healthiness
• Equate good AW standards with good food standards
• Would like to make more informed choices
• Signs of higher vegetarianism in the young,
  mainly for ethical reasons

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Introducing standardised AW indicators

• Development, management, research of welfare
  indicators
• Exchange of information and formation of the
   auditors 
• Stakeholder interaction, best practices
• A European Centre for the protection and welfare
  of animals.

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An informed keeper and general public the best
advocates for AW

• Establishment of a specific information platform
  on animal welfare
• Dialogue and exchange of experiences between
  stakeholders

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Animal welfare labelling Enable consumers to
make an informed choice and producers to benefit
from market opportunities

• Possible ways forward
• Development of standardised animal welfare
  indicators
• Classification and harmonised certification of
  animal welfare standards applied
• Systematic exploration of options for labelling

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CAP Measures with a particular potential to
address animal welfare issues

• Investments in agricultural holdings
• Agri-environment/animal welfare
• Processing and marketing of agricultural products
• Training
• Meeting standards chapter
• Food quality chapter
• Setting-up of farm advisory systems

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CAP reform RD - Food quality

• Support for
• Farmers participation in FQS
• Activities to inform consumers,
• Promotion of products produced under quality
  schemes.
• Public support up to 70 of eligible project
  costs.

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Thinking about animal welfare when purchasing
"
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Do you believe that buying animal welfare
friendly products could have a positive
impact on the welfare/protection of farm animals?
AnswersTotal "Yes"
Malta
79
Poland
74
Slovakia
68
66
Slovenia
66
Latvia
65
Hungary
60
Estonia
57
56
Lithuania
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Are consumers ready to pay more for a better
welfare for laying hens?
What additional price premium would you be
willing to pay for hens eggs
sourced from an animal welfare friendly
production system?
AnswersTotal "Additional"
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Working towards international consensus

• WTO
• Multilateral animal welfare standards OIE,
  Council of Europe
• Multilateral and bilateral agreements
• Labelling of animal products
• Supporting further research on the links between
  animal health and animal welfare

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Some economic aspectsfrom the broilers side

• Irrespective of new welfare measures incomes in
  the Dutch poultry sector negative over the last 3
  years
• New Community rules would add 2.5-8 cents to the
  cost of producing a chicken
• But in 2002 average UK net margin per bird only 3
  p !!
• Cost of producing 1kg of chicken meat
• 0.72 in Brazil, 1.35 in UK !!
• How to adapt our production and who will bear the
  costs farmers, processors, retailers,
  consumers governments ?

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Creating Business Opportunitythrough Improved
Animal Welfare (International Finance Corporation
client resources )

• The note demonstrates how good principles of
  animal welfare in investments in livestock
  operations in emerging markets could represent a
  way to improve quality and productivity.

http//www.ifc.org/ifcext/agribusiness.nsf/Conte
nt/LivestockProcessing
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Thanks for your attention.