The path to a more sustainable future for poultry production starts from Berlin
The participants in the AVEC General Assembly with the Berlin Declaration that they signed at the meeting. (Image: AVEC)The General Assembly of the AVEC, European Poultry Meat Association, was held recently in Berlin and in which Avianza, the Spanish Interprofessional Association of Poultry Meat, and the National Association of Poultry Processors, Rabbits, and Poultry Cutting Rooms (AMACO) participated as Spanish representatives, has closed with a joint declaration of all its national members in favor of the challenges of sustainability in the poultry sector.
The document, baptized as the Berlin Declaration, represents the vision of a strategic sector in Europe such as poultry (chicken, turkey, quail, duck, goose, and others), whose joint production exceeds 38,000 million euros, with exports of more than 2,000 million euros a year and more than 25,000 family farms throughout Europe that generate about 370,000 direct jobs.
Balance in the three pillars of sustainability
With the Berlin Declaration, the representatives of the respective integrated national associations commit to developing and promoting a Sustainability Charter to be presented in early 2022. The letter will aim to find the best balance between the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic, to be consistent with the objectives of the EU Green Deal and the Farm-to-Table Strategy.
In Europe, it is recalled in the document, conventional poultry meat production represents 80% of the market, and using highly efficient production processes, only a minimal amount of natural resources is needed to generate a high-value protein source for the human diet.
Implementing higher standards of welfare for animals is within the objectives of the sector, which is proud to be a world leader in this matter. To achieve animal welfare and have the high quality of the product, the extensive experience of its highly qualified professionals, who bring many years of experience to the sector, is crucial.
A point of reflection
Jordi Montfort, Avianza's Secretary-General, explained that the association subscribes to the Berlin Declaration "as a necessary point of reflection for the entire European poultry sector regarding the main challenges that we have been tackling from each of our national inter-professionals. The response to the great demands of our society and our consumers to advance in a sustainable diet in all its aspects is in the hands of our farmers and companies in the sector, who have been working for years to guarantee the highest standards of quality safety and respect for the environment. It is more necessary than ever to listen to them".
For its part, AVEC points out that it has begun a process of reflection with the aim of facing the planet's next challenges, which they consider cannot be fought alone but must be addressed with a common approach. Therefore, all stakeholders in the production chain (representatives of breeding companies, representatives of farmers, food processors, academics, and scientists) are participating in this initiative.
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