World Meat Congress: 'We produce food to feed people'

11-13 October 2023, the biennial World Meat Congress was held in Maastricht. Over 300 stakeholders from all parts of the world gathered at the MECC for the two-day conference. Politicians and representatives from the industry discussed current issues but focused mainly on the challenges the meat chains face.

'Meat consumption will significantly increase in the coming years; simply because the global population is growing'

The International Meat Secretariat (IMS) is the organizer of the WMC. "Meat is a challenge, but meat can also be a solution for the planet." This was the starting point of the opening speech by IMS President, Guillaume Roué. The subsequent talks centered on this: What challenges does the industry face, and what solutions are there?

You Are What You Eat

Various international speakers, some more neutral, others highly passionate, shared insights about developments in agriculture, meat production, and their knowledge of the health aspects of meat. An intriguing lecture was given by Professor Luc van Loon. He delved into his research demonstrating the value of animal proteins for human muscle building. The essence of his talk: "You are literally what you just ate."

Transparent Information

Perhaps one of the industry's biggest challenges is that the image of the meat processing industry is on the decline, partly due to concerns about meat production's impact on climate change and also due to diseases like swine fever and bluetongue. "The voices of the public and politicians increasingly impact producers and consumers," concluded Thanawat Tiensin, Director Animal Production and Health Division at the FAO. He believes consumers' wishes must be respected; they have the right to honest and reliable information about what they eat, how it's produced, and where it comes from.

Dialogue

There was consensus on the necessity of maintaining a dialogue. However, what most desire is to engage in a transparent discussion about meat production and consumption. This must be based on scientifically backed information, not merely gut feelings. An important point made by one of the speakers: "We produce food to feed people!" In passing, Maciej Golubiewski (Head of Cabinet for Janus Wojciechowski, the European Commissioner for Agriculture) informed the attendees that there are no plans to legally reduce European meat production. This was good news for most listeners in the room. After all, the expectation is that global meat consumption will significantly increase in the coming years, simply because the global population is growing.

wmc2023maatstricht.com