Food affordability in the EU: making plant-based foods an affordable choice
AA-FT recently contributed to the European Commission survey on food affordability, aimed at collecting civil society input on how food prices and access may evolve in the coming years. Food affordability is increasingly affecting a broad range of households across the EU. Rising costs are limiting access to quality food, with the consumption of products […]
Biotech Act: Food Left Behind in Europe’s Innovation Strategy
The European Commission has presented, on the 16 December 2025, its European Biotech Act with the stated ambition of boosting innovation and competitiveness across the EU. The initiative aims to reduce regulatory bottlenecks and improve coordination for biotechnology and biomanufacturing. However, when it comes to food innovation, the Act falls short. While the Biotech Act […]
Beyond the EU Animal Welfare Consultation: What Comes Next?
The European Commission’s latest public consultation on farm animal welfare closed on Wednesday 17 December. With more than 170 000 contributors, including input from AAFT, attention now turns to next steps and whether this process will finally translate into concrete policy action. For years, EU institutions have acknowledged that current animal welfare laws are outdated […]
The urgent need to address harmful genetic selection practices
AA-FT has raised serious concerns with the European Commission about a long-standing yet often overlooked problem in EU farming: the widespread use of animal breeds whose genetics inevitably cause significant suffering. EU law is already clear. Council Directive 98/58 on the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes states that animals must not be kept […]
Reflections on the Danish Presidency’s Animal Welfare Conference
This week’s high-profile conference hosted under the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU, Welfare of Farm Animals in the EU of 2050: A Pathway to the Future, was presented as a strategic moment to set direction for Europe’s animal welfare policies in the decades ahead. While the event brought together a wide range […]
The Blueprint for an EU Action Plan of Plant-Based Foods Presented at the European Parliament
On 27 November, the European Parliament’s Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals hosted a dedicated session on the transition toward more sustainable food systems. AAFT Director Olga Kikou introduced the Blueprint for an EU Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods, develop by a Taskforce of umbrella NGOs spread across Europe, which outlines concrete measures […]
Towards a Europe Free from Fur Farming
AA-FT contributed to the consultation launched by the European Commission on fur farming in Europe. This dialogue follows the Fur Free Europe European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), which gathered the support of more than 1.5 million Europeans. The Initiative urges the EU institutions to prohibit, across the Union, the keeping and killing of animals for fur […]
33 Organisations Call on the EU to Fix the CAP and Deliver a Sustainable Future for Farming
As negotiations begin on the post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), AAFT has joined 32 civil society organisations to urge EU leaders to fundamentally rethink Europe’s approach to food and farming. The message is clear: the CAP must finally serve farmers, citizens and the planet, not the interests of the few. It must also raise the […]
COP30: Over 100 Organizations Urge Governments to Anchor Climate Ambition to Agroecology
Animal Advocacy & Food Transition has joined more than 100 organizations from over 25 countries in urging Parties to the Paris Agreement to place agriculture and food systems at the heart of their 2035 climate commitments ahead of COP30 in Brazil. With food systems responsible for up to 42% of global greenhouse gas emissions, governments […]
Nearly 3,000 cattle Trapped at Sea Endure Weeks of Suffering Aboard the MV Spiridon 2
For over 7 weeks, nearly 3,000 cattle have been confined aboard the livestock carrier Spiridon 2, anchored off Bandirma Port in Turkey, with no relief in sight. The animals, transported from Uruguay, have endured unimaginable stress, hunger and exhaustion, yet Turkish authorities continue to refuse permission to unload the animals, due to unresolved administrative complications, […]