A visit to the farm to learn about the best practices in European animal husbandry. A gift from Cotance to understand, in practice, the circularity of leather and the up-cycling function of tanning. On December 7, Frans Timmermans, European Commissioner for Climate and the European Green Deal, visited a meat and dairy farm in the Walloon region of Belgium. The meeting was promoted by the associations participating in European Livestock Voice, a multi-stakeholder project bringing together upstream and downstream associations of the livestock industry.
Meat issues
The meeting was an opportunity to address key issues for European livestock farming, such as animal welfare, gas emissions and trade. It was also, the promoters explained, the occasion for “a first step in opening a dialogue between the Commission and the livestock value chain on the developments of the Farm to Fork strategy”. “To tackle the climate crisis, agriculture must move from being part of the problem to being part of the solution”, Timmermans said. “In livestock farming, solutions must focus on reducing emissions and creating an overall sustainable industry. In the future, we will need a sustainable livestock industry to feed 10 billion people”.
As a gift: the circularity of leather
Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano, secretary general of Cotance, took advantage of the meeting to present Timmermans with a leather apron bearing the words “Good Steaks – Good Leather”. The cadeaux, explain the association that represents European tanning in Brussels, is intended to demonstrate the circularity of the supply chain and tanning. It collects waste from slaughterhouses and transforms it into a new (and noble) material for design.
Photo by Bernal Rever
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