The EU Farm to Fork Strategy sets ambitious targets for sustainable food systems that include animal welfare improvements, making it one of the most significant policy frameworks affecting farmed animals globally.
The EU Farm to Fork Strategy represents the most ambitious attempt yet to embed animal welfare in a comprehensive food systems policy framework, linking it explicitly to sustainability, public health, and climate goals. The recognition that animal welfare, antibiotic resistance, and environmental sustainability are interconnected problems requiring integrated policy is a significant advance in how welfare is positioned in policy debates. However, the distance between strategic vision and legislative delivery has been apparent in delays to promised revisions to laying hen, pig, and transport legislation. Civil society pressure — exemplified by the End the Cage Age European Citizens Initiative — has demonstrated the potential for public engagement to accelerate policy development. Monitoring legislative progress and maintaining pressure on both EU institutions and member states for implementation is an ongoing welfare advocacy priority.