Sustainability - The Berlin Declaration

AVEC and its national association members commit to develop and promote a Sustainability Charter which will be presented at the start of 2022. The charter will aim at finding the best balance between the three pillars of sustainability: Environmental, Social and Economic – to be consistent with the goals of the EU Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy.

AVEC has started a reflection to face the upcoming challenges for our planet. Those cannot be fought alone but must be tackled in a common approach. Therefore, all stakeholders in the production chain – representatives from breeding companies, representatives of farmers, food processors, academics, and scientists – are contributing to this process.

With this declaration the European poultry meat sector commits to a sustainable future.

Our Understanding

The European poultry meat sector is a high performing, progressive and sustainable sector which contributes significantly to a balanced and healthy diet for the people in Europe and the world. We supply people with high-quality poultry meat from chicken, turkey, duck, goose and other poultry species.

The poultry meat sector is a strategic asset in the EU Food System – with a total production value of 38 billion €, with exports worth more than 2 billion € per year, providing direct employment for over 370.000 people. On 25.000 family farms across Europe, chickens, turkeys and ducks are reared to high standards.

In Europe the conventional poultry meat production represents 80% of the market. Using highly efficient production processes, only a minimum amount of natural resources are necessary to generate a highly valuable protein source for the human diet.

Implementing higher welfare standards for our animals is part of our DNA and we are proud to be the leading of the world in this matter. Crucial for both, animal welfare and the high product quality is the extensive expertise of our highly qualified professionals that often bring many years of experience into our sector.

Progress is our mission

We are a progressive and committed sector, which is constantly working on the development of our procedures throughout the entire production chain. As an integrated sector, we work closely together and benefit from the exchange of knowledge at all levels.

We are aware that society and politics in the European Union are engaged in an intensive discussion about the future of livestock farming. We see ourselves as an active part in this discussion and as a reliable partner. We stand for an open, receptive, and constructive dialogue with the EU Institutions, politicians and relevant stakeholders – striving to find new solutions.

Context

To ensure a fair transition towards a more sustainable European poultry meat production, it is a necessity for EU authorities to guarantee and enforce a level playing field with international trade partners and require identical rules for imported poultry meat.

In context of the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy in which the 27 EU Member States committed to turn the EU into the first climate neutral continent by 2050, the EU poultry sector wants to contribute to a more sustainable world.

Berlin, 10. September 2021

Signed by

President

Paul Lopez

Vice Presidents

Frans-Josef Rothkötter, Gert-Jan Oplaat, Dariusz Goszczyński, Mario Veronesi