On 1 December 2025, Denmark hosted a major EU animal welfare conference in Brussels. More than 200 decision-makers and experts from across Europe met to address a central question for the future of food production: How farm animal welfare should be shaped towards 2050.

The conference was organised by the Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Jacob Jensen, in collaboration with the European Commission. Its aim was to support the development of stronger, shared European frameworks that protect animal welfare while allowing agriculture to evolve sustainably in the decades ahead. The EU Commission for Health and Animal Welfare, Olivér Várhelyi, gave a keynote speech emphasising the importance of practical solutions for animal welfare, that work in practice and not only on paper.

In the opening plenary, Professor Henk Hogeveen outlined the economic context of animal welfare, focusing on credence goods (public and private), the issue of price asymmetry between farmers and retailers, and common misconceptions, such as the belief that high welfare standards always entail high costs.

Dr Samuele Tonello, from the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), emphasised the need to align policy frameworks with consumer expectations on animal welfare. He referred to BEUC’s 2024 report on consumer views, available here: https://lnkd.in/e8kHjXZa

The programme featured a mix of plenary sessions and panel discussions. The final plenary, delivered online by Distinguished Professor Temple Grandin, provided practical guidance for policy workers, including terms to avoid, such as “adequate.” She also presented examples of scoring tools associated with the Five Domains framework.