Brussels/Vienna, 5 July 2023 – Today, the European Commission adopted its proposal to create a monitoring framework for the protection of soil which is intended to stop degradation by intensive farming and halt the effects of climate crisis.

The proposals come in the recent wake of last month's huge political storm around EU environmental laws which have split EU political groups and Member States.

FOUR PAWS, the global animal welfare organisation, welcomed the proposal but emphasised that they “were not ambitious enough” especially when it comes to the issue of livestock farming.

“In the same way that industrial animal farming is the major source of water pollution, it lies at the heart of soil deterioration. It is crucial to confront and rectify the problem of excessive numbers of livestock in order to protect and restore our soils for the good of the environment, ecosystem, and economy.”

Soil health has a key role in biodiversity protection, climate mitigation and food production (95% of which is dependent on soils), around 70% of EU soil ecosystems are in an unhealthy situation.

The Commission proposal aims “to achieve healthy soils by 2050”, yet this cannot be achieved solely by implementing a monitoring system. Soil must have the same protections as air and water do. This can only be achieved by adopting a determined Soil Health Law – as proposed in the EU Soil Strategy for 2030 – with binding targets for the next three decades.

Factory farming contributes to soil degradation in multiple ways. In fact, 80% of EU soil acidification caused by agriculture is due to livestock farming which often results in excessive manure pollution and overgrazing from too many animals on one farm, which destroys the soil’s ability to store carbon.

We cannot continue having this many poultry in factory farms as they exacerbate the circulation and development of avian influenza. Also, to limit viral transmission between facilities, we need to reduce the density of industrial farms. Decentralising production, including slaughter, is another key to limiting disease spread and animal welfare issues. Lastly, there should be no poultry farms near natural resting areas of migratory birds (wetlands), where the risk of inter-species contact and viral transmission is particularly high.

Aylmer concluded that, "We now call on policymakers at the European Parliament and the Council to give this proposal the ambition it needs by including binding targets and provisions that tackle unsustainable farming methods. Specifically, this would involve enabling a reduction of the excessive livestock population in the EU and guarantee species-appropriate animal welfare standards.”
 

BACKGROUND

European Commission Health Soil Monitoring Law Proposal: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/proposal-directive-soil-monitoring_en