As the European Commission prepares its Anti-Poverty Strategy, expected in May 2026, the challenge is clear: poverty cannot be tackled through income alone. It is about access to services, to opportunities, and crucially, to good food.
In our letter to Commissioner Roxana Mînzatu, Commissioner for social rights, Animal Advocacy & Food Transition called for a strategy that recognises food affordability as a core dimension of inequality. Across the EU, millions of people are locked into food environments where the cheapest options are often the least healthy. Ultra-processed, animal products dominate low-cost diets, while fresh, nutritious foods remain comparatively less accessible. The result is a vicious cycle: poverty fuels poor nutrition, which in turn deepens health inequalities. Ensuring that healthy food is affordable, through structural measures like lower VAT on plant-based products, is not a side issue. It is central to social justice. Public procurement must also be part of the solution. Schools, hospitals, and public institutions can lead the way by prioritising nutritious, plant-rich meals, using public spending to improve both health and equality.
But this is not only about food, it is also about jobs. Animal welfare policies are too often seen as a cost. In reality, they can drive job creation in sectors such as animal care, veterinary services, or audit services. These are meaningful, future-oriented jobs that can support inclusion through training and reskilling. At the same time, the fast-growing plant-based food sector offers major employment potential across the value chain, from farming to processing and retail. For many regions, especially rural ones, this is a concrete opportunity to build more resilient and inclusive local economies. This transition must, however, be fair. Farmers need support to adapt, invest, and diversify, ensuring that higher standards do not translate into greater inequality.
Finally, animal welfare is also a very strong lever for social inclusion. Through education, community programmes, and support for vulnerable households, animal welfare policies can contribute to spreading empathy, cohesion, and well-being, particularly where exclusion is strongest. If the EU is serious about fighting poverty, it must embrace this broader vision.
The upcoming EU Anti-Poverty Strategy can set a new standard, one that recognises that dignity, equality, and inclusion also depend on what is on our plates, how we treat animals, and the kind of jobs and communities we build around these choices.
