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A study by researchers from the University of Helsinki and LUT University in Finland recommends that the food industry innovate and create more creative solutions for edible insects such as crickets, flies, and worms, so that insect protein becomes more acceptable to consumers. The study looked at the extent to which insect protein could potentially help reduce global warming associated with food consumption in Europe. The study confirms that insect protein has the greatest potential to reduce the carbon footprint of European consumers, while stating that it is more sustainable to use insects for direct consumption than as a substitute for soy flour in animal feed.
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A total of 18 Member States, including BE, LT, AT, BG, HR, CZ, EE, FI, FR, DE, EL, HU, LV, LU, MT, PL, SK, and RO, supported the activation of exceptional market measures under the single CMO Regulation to assist the pig meat sector in the EU. The coalition of these Member States is requesting support in the wake of unfavourable market developments caused by a combination of low pork prices and rising production costs. The request will be discussed at the Luxembourg Council of Agriculture Ministers on 11-12/10/2021.

The German Grain Club, together with other German agricultural organizations, commissioned an impact study on the implementation of the objectives of the Farm to Fork strategy. The 230-page study, entitled " Economic and Environmental impacts of the Green Deal on the Agricultural Economy", aims to simulate the impacts of the implementation of Farm to Fork objectives on production, trade, animal welfare, and the environment, using the CAPRI-model to simulate impacts. and scientists from the German University of Kiel took part in its creation. The study concludes that the introduction of Farm to Fork targets could lead to a significant drop in agricultural production and rising food prices in the EU. The implementation of the goal of reducing nitrogen consumption would have the greatest impact on the decline in production. According to the German study, there would be a drop in production of beef (-20%), milk (-6.3%), cereals (-21.4%) and oilseeds (-21.4%). Prices of fruits and vegetables should then increase by 15%, oilseeds by 18%, and cereals by 12.5%. If all the objectives of Farm to Fork were implemented, then, according to the results of the study, the EU, as a net exporter of beef and cereals, would become a net importer of these commodities. The trade balance in cereals would change from a positive 22 million tonnes to a net import of 6.5 million tonnes, while the trade balance in beef would change from a surplus of 22.5 thousand tonnes to a deficit of 950,000 tonnes. Net exports of pork would decrease from 4.3 million tonnes to 1 million tonnes and net exports of milk from 5.9 million tonnes to 4.9 million tonnes. Net imports of oilseeds would increase from 17 million tonnes to 22 million tonnes, and net imports of fruit and vegetables from 10 million tonnes to 22 million tonnes. Any reduction in carbon dioxide that would take place in the European Union would be offset by an increase in carbon dioxide production in third countries. A study commissioned by the largest European agricultural NGO Copa and Cogeca by the Dutch University Wageningen should also be published in the coming weeks.
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In August, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) published a report summarizing model situations of the impact of implementing some Farm to Fork objectives on European agriculture. The report shows that agricultural production in key sectors, such as cereals, oilseeds, beef, and milk, could fall by more than 15%, and that production in the pork and poultry meat and vegetable sectors could fall by more than 5%. This will also have a negative impact on European agri-food exports and farmers' incomes. The JRC report and the European Commission itself have faced intense criticism in recent weeks from European agricultural organizations, which have criticized not only the results fundamentally unfavourable to European agriculture, but also the Commission's decision to publish the report only after a political agreement on the CAP was reached in late June 2021, and moreover during the summer holidays. The European Commission is now trying to resist criticism, according to the Commission, the report cannot be seen as an impact assessment, but only as a report that seeks to model certain impacts of certain situations. According to Tassos Haniotis, a representative of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, the JRC report probably overestimated some of the possible impacts. Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said last week in response to intense criticism that the European Commission plans to carry out a comprehensive impact assessment of the implementation of Farm to Fork objectives before the legislative process begins. Whether this means that the European Commission plans to prepare a cumulative impact assessment, as called for by European agricultural organizations, or whether this means drawing up individual impact assessments for each of the objectives separately, as the European Commission has so far preferred, has not been specified by the Commissioner. However, the Commissioner said that it was still too early to assess how costly the planned transformation to sustainable food systems would be.
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During the conference held in early September, producers and experts involved in the production of alternative proteins discussed, among other things, the future of so-called hybrid foods, i.e., foods composed of both vegetable proteins and proteins, or fats grown in laboratories. During the conference, the representatives agreed that there is a future in hybrid foods and that they could appear on the European market soon, after approval by the European Food Safety Authority. Consumption of only plant-based alternatives in the European Union increased by 49% between 2018 and 2020. According to experts, laboratory-grown fat will give plant alternatives a more massive taste, texture, appearance, and aroma. In addition, it reduces the use of vegetable fat, which is often obtained from monocultures, thus having a negative impact on biodiversity.
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