The Hungarian Council Presidency has invited EU agriculture ministers to discuss the impact of novel foods such as cultivated meat and plant-based foods on European food traditions.
According to Euractiv, the presidency sent a note to EU delegations saying that meat and dairy consumption is an important part of the “European way of life”, implying that plant-based or cultivated alternatives could pose a threat to European culture. The note also claimed that many Europeans are not enthusiastic about novel foods, despite increases in plant-based food consumption. The subject will be discussed by ministers over lunch at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting next week.
It comes amid a controversial start to Hungary’s turn at holding the EU council presidency, which rotates every six months. With its “Make Europe Great Again” slogan and the recent visit of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to Moscow, the country has attracted accusations of going against the EU’s core values.
The presidency was previously held by Belgium, which published a document last week outlining the future priorities for European agriculture. The document advocated various climate-friendly agricultural practices, including improvements to the availability and diversification of plant protein.
Proposed cultivated meat ban
Hungarian Agriculture Minister István Nagy previously came out in support of Italy’s ban on cultivated meat production earlier this year. He claimed that cultivated meat has “unforeseeable consequences”, and suggested that Hungary may impose a similar ban.
In January, the country supported a note put forward by Austria, France, and Italy that said cultivated products “can never be called meat”. In an apparent attempt to slow or prevent the regulatory approval of cultivated meat, the note also claimed that the industry raises ethical, economic, social, and public health concerns that must be taken into account before any market authorisations take place. But GFI Europe said the note “spreads misinformation about cultivated meat and undermines Europe’s world-leading regulatory system”, pointing out that it cited a study that had not been peer-reviewed.
Varying approaches
There is a growing backlash against cultivated products worldwide, likely due to their potential to displace conventional meat production. US states Florida and Alabama have recently introduced bills to ban cultivated meat, and other states are attempting to bring in similar legislation. But many countries are taking a positive approach to the technology, including Singapore, Switzerland, the UK, the Netherlands, and Australia. Considerable evidence now indicates that meat alternatives — including cultivated, plant-based, and fermented products — have strong potential to address the environmental impact of animal-source foods, including a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report published last year.
“New food alternatives will offer a broader spectrum of consumer choices,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “Further, such alternatives can also lessen the pressures on agricultural lands and reduce emissions, thereby helping us address the triple planetary crisis — the crisis of climate change, the crisis of biodiversity and nature loss, the crisis of pollution and waste — as well as address the health and environmental consequences of the animal agriculture industry. More government support, as well as open and transparent research, can help unlock the potential of these new technologies for some countries.”
