The global livestock sector is estimated to be responsible for between 12% and 19% of total greenhouse gas emissions, according to a recent study from Foodrise, Friends of the Earth, IATP and Greenpeace. The European Union houses more than a third of these industry’s top polluters. When talking about the drivers of the climate crisis, most eyes are focused on fossil fuels, transport, and individual lifestyle choices. And all the while, big corporations like Lactalis (France), Arla (Denmark), Nestlé (Switzerland), and FrieslandCampina (the Netherlands) continue business as usual, without facing any real accountability for their damaging practices.

To have any real chance of limiting global warming to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target, the livestock sector needs to be taken just as seriously as the biggest oil firms. The top five meat and dairy emitters alone produce more greenhouse gas emissions than major oil companies such as Shell. There is no time left for techno-fixes that won’t hold up in court. Livestock reduction is the only credible path forward.

In 2023, the climate emissions of the 45 biggest producers were estimated to exceed the reported emissions of all EU27 countries and the UK combined. This strongly accelerates global warming, fuels extreme weather and environmental destruction, and contributes to air pollution that harms human health.

Read our latest findings here:

This week marks the European Biomethane Week, a moment when producers, users, investors, and legislators come together to further boost the ongoing upscaling of biomethane. And, of course, it’s also the moment for Foodrise to be a critical voice in the room. 

Since we started working on this topic in 2020, we have seen it all: the potential, the room for improvement, but above all the concerning pathway that currently planned biomethane upscaling could lead us down, one where we risk locking ourselves into a dependency on large-scale animal production for both our food and our energy. This, at a time when, both from a climate and dietary perspective, we should actually be moving towards more plant-based food production. 

But there is more. Together with the StopTheBiomethaneRush Coalition, we have highlighted multiple downsides of the biomethane rush: impacts on local communities, methane leaks, dependency on food waste instead of preventing it, and many others. 

In other words, we simply can’t sit still during this week, and we won’t.  

Today, the Methane Matters Coalition – consisting of Changing Markets, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, EEB, Zero Waste Europe and the Environmental Investigation Agency – has launched its new comprehensive report, undertaken by Profundo: “Biogas in the EU: A policy and financial analysis”, for which we have been happy to provide input on this journey as part of the study’s steering committee; and also be part of a panel at its launch event.  

The goal of the research has been to provide a concrete analysis of the policy and financial environment for biogas, the potential risks associated with this, and any recommendations for how policies and financial flows can be changed to build a more sustainable and just energy transition in Europe. For this, the report also includes case studies from seven European countries – six EU member states, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, and Romania, chosen to reflect a balance of geographies within the EU, and the UK. 

Some key insights from the report: 

• Currently, no EU policy sufficiently mitigates the environmental and social impacts of biogas and biomethane production. 

• No specific policy exists relevant for community engagement in biogas production. While some aspects of community impacts have been addressed through the EU Nitrates Directive via restrictions on nitrogen levels from fertiliser application, which could mitigate negative impacts on waterways, nature and health, this has even been weakened recently under pressure from highly intensive livestock producing countries such as the Netherlands. 

• Throughout Europe, manure is increasingly used as a feedstock in biomethane production, despite its significant life cycle emissions and wider environmental pollution. 

• As also voiced by the StopTheBiomethaneRush Coalitionthe report calls on EU policymakers to conduct a full environmental impact assessment of the RePowerEU target of 35 billion cubic metres biogas by 2030 and reconsider the target if needed to avoid locking us into unsustainable production practices and land-use impacts. 

Since our organisation is based in the Netherlands, we were particularly interested in taking a closer look at the current state of biomethane here. The report provides excellent insights with a dedicated Dutch case study:   

• The ongoing manure surplus and nitrogen crisis have created conditions under which biogas – particularly anaerobic digestion of manure – is increasingly framed as a practical waste management tool. But this causes significant controversy regarding environmental trade-offs, efficiency and impacts on local communities. 

• Cargill, one of the largest agricultural polluters in the world, with a long history of derailing and delaying climate regulation, is investing heavily in biogas in the Netherlands. This has led to concerns on the potential to ‘lock-in’ to unsustainable extraction and manure production. The Netherlands already has three times higher nitrogen pollution than other European countries, mostly coming from intensive industrial animal production. 

• Environmental Impact Assessments in the Netherlands are meant to also assess the impact of new biogas installation on local communities. But now, these are envisioned to be reduced in certain so-called “acceleration areas” as part of the Dutch transposition of RED III into national law. 

• The total subsidy amount for biogas (through the most prominent schemes SDE+ and SDE++) in the period 2016-2023 has amounted to EUR 6.1 billion. 

As highlighted in the report, the biomethane industry in the Netherlands is still in its early stages, now spurred by the country’s new target of 2 billion cubic metres by 2030. This makes it especially important to avoid the pitfalls experienced in other EU countries and to ensure that biomethane develops within a sustainable niche. 

The report therefore includes the following recommendations to Dutch policymakers: 

Introduce a moratorium on biomethane from manure sourced from industrial animal farming  

While the expansion of biomethane production in the Netherlands is still in its early stages, the government’s intention to significantly increase production by using large quantities of animal manure contrasts sharply with the country’s dramatic nitrogen crisis and the need to significantly and rapidly reduce livestock numbers. Dutch policy-makers must review biomethane policies and subsidies as laid out in this research, stop any incentives that could lock in industrial animal farming, and ensure that biomethane policies are co-designed and coherent with efforts to reduce the number of animals. 

Maintain stringent MER-requirements for biogas production facilities and distribution channels in allocating so-called ‘’acceleration areas” under RED III 

The Netherlands should maintain a so-called Project-MER (i.e. a project-based environmental impact assessment) requirement for biogas production facilities and distribution channels. While the Dutch government is in the process of identifying so-called ‘’acceleration areas’’ for the Dutch energy transition as part of its transposition of RED III into national law, regulators must ensure that environmental safeguards for biogas production facilities and distribution channels are maintained. 

Respect the EU-wide nitrogen application levels for animal manure and oppose the RENURE changes to the Nitrates Directive 

Contrary to recent actions, the Dutch government should oppose changes in the EU Council to increase the maximum nitrogen application level and to stop applying for any future derogations under the existing limits. The Netherlands is one of three European countries that have a derogation under the EU Nitrates Directive, allowing some farmers to apply more nitrogen from animal manure per hectare. In 2024, the EU Commission opened a public consultation on revising Annex III of the Nitrates Directive, aiming to increase the maximum nitrogen application level from 170 kg to 270 kg per hectare, provided that this nitrogen originates from ‘recovered nitrogen from manure (RENURE)’ fertilisers. 

More information can be found on the Methane Matters Coalition page: https://methanematters.eu/ 

After months of hard work, it is finally here: our StopTheBiomethaneRush booklet!

This is not only a big moment for us at Foodrise after five years of working on this topic – it is especially so for our StopTheBiomethaneRush coalition.

From a small group of organisations that would informally discuss biomethane, we have evolved into a strong coalition ready to step up at a time when biomethane is heavily promoted as “the” sustainable solution – be it for the agricultural sector, industry, transport, or the energy system as a whole.

But where there are glossy brochures and European production targets being set based on industry calculations, it’s important to take a closer look. We do so with StopTheBiomethaneRush, a diverse coalition of organisations active in the fields of food sovereignty, sustainable land use, animal rights, energy systems, shipping, the heating transition, and emissions mitigation. Importantly, local communities around Europe are also represented in our coalition, giving voice to those directly affected on the ground. Together, we challenge the large-scale development of industrial biogas operations, which create risks of additional environmental pollution, climate impacts, animal cruelty, and social injustices.

Don’t get us wrong. As a coalition, we do recognise that biomethane from unavoidable organic waste streams can contribute to energy needs. But production levels must be kept within a sustainable niche.

What does that mean specifically? We explain it in our new StopTheBiomethaneRush booklet. Our analysis, based on scientific evidence and the experiences of impacted communities, identifies how policy can ensure biomethane production remains compatible with sustainable practices in the farming, food, and energy sectors, while also respecting community well-being.

With Denmark, a major producer of biomethane linked to its highly industrialised animal production system, having taken over the EU Presidency at the beginning of July, we look forward to contributing our expertise over the next six months and beyond.

Let’s get this right!

Read the booklet here:

NICE, FRANCE. 12 June 2025 – While the European Commission is currently promoting the development of the aquaculture industry across the European Union, claiming it is “key to feeding the world”[1], new data shows otherwise. Huge swathes of the Mediterranean have been quietly taken over by industrial-scale seabass and seabream farms boosted by European Union and government funding – driving environmental destruction and depriving global communities of food and livelihoods.

This Mediterranean ‘takeover’ by seabass and seabream farms is revealed today [12^th June, 2025] at the United Nations Ocean Conference in a new report Ocean Takeover from environmental charity Foodrise (formerly Feedback EU), Greek alliance Aktaia and Spain’s Associació Cultural Ecológista de Calp (ACEC).

The new research reveals the sheer scale of the ‘feed footprint’ of seabass and seabream farming with huge numbers of wild fish turned into fish oil to feed farmed seabass and seabream. The researchers found 300,000 tonnes of fish could be left in the ocean or over a quarter (28%) more people could be fed a weekly portion of 200g fish if it wasn’t used to feed farmed seabass and seabream. In practice, this means that an additional 18 million people could be fed every year if seabass and seabream farming stopped.

Seabass and seabream farming has a negative impact on global food security – contrary to what the industry consistently claims. The extraction of wild fish from countries in West Africa, including Senegal, Mauritania and Gambia to produce fish meal and fish oil (FMFO) for industrial aquaculture, is contributing to the worsening food security crisis – in 2023 food insecurity in the region hit a 10-year high.[2]

The latest data (2021) from EUMOFA underlines the scale of the problem, with 98% of European seabass eaten coming from farms while just 2% is from fisheries.

While Türkiye is the world’s biggest producer of farmed seabass and seabream (44%),[3] Greece is the biggest producer of farmed seabass and seabream in the European Union – with its industry growing 141% since the turn of the century. This growth in Greece is fuelled partly by the extraction of vast amounts of wild fish from West and Southern Africa – enough to feed nearly one million people a year, according to the new research. At the same time, serious environmental damage caused by the fish farms has already been observed, with a strong decline in Posidionia seagrass found exclusively along the coastlines of the Mediterranean Sea – a loss that is likely to be irreversible.

Despite this, the report reveals substantial support from national governments and the European Union, which collectively have channelled millions of euros into promoting the growth of intensive fish farming to the detriment of critical Mediterranean ecosystems and coastal communities, as well as the detriment of people across the globe.

For example, Under the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) 2021–2027, Greece will receive €91 million to support “sustainable aquaculture and processing”.[4] Between 2017 and 2022, the EU funded the €7 million PerformFISH project, claiming to boost the efficiency, profitability, and sustainability of Mediterranean fish farming, with direct backing from industry groups in countries like Greece and Spain – while in reality it fuels a destructive industry, with negative consequences for the communities living with its impacts but seeing little to no benefit.

Natasha Hurley, Campaigns Director at Foodrise, said: “It’s high time we all knew where the seabass and seabream on our plates comes from – and the huge environmental cost of each bite. Our new research clearly shows the shocking takeover of the Mediterranean by profit-hungry corporations is driving environmental destruction and global food insecurity. What’s even more galling is that this is happening courtesy of funding from national governments and the European Union.

“Industrial aquaculture is increasingly touted as a solution to ecosystem collapse and food insecurity as our oceans’ wild fish populations come increasingly under threat, but this is a deeply misleading narrative fuelled by vested corporate interests. Today’s findings powerfully demonstrate that intensive fish farming is a false solution and why we need to see an urgent end to the rapid expansion of seabass and seabream farms in the Med.”

Mor Mbengue, President of the Cayar artisanal fisheries committee (Cayar, Senegal) said:  “Before, the sea made us live. We caught enough to feed our families, and the women of the village processed the fish to sell to the inhabitants of the cities, far from the Senegalese coast, thus providing 70% of their animal protein needs. Since the arrival of fishmeal factories, which target coastal pelagic species and fish for juveniles, everything has collapsed. The fish have disappeared, the air has become unbreathable, the water is polluted. Women have lost their jobs, young people no longer have a future here. Many take to the sea, no longer to fish, but to flee. The most revolting thing is that all this fish plundered here does not even feed human beings: it goes to Europe and Asia to fatten farmed fish or pigs. We sacrifice our lives to feed animals on the other side of the world. It’s an injustice that we can no longer bear.”

Fay Orfanidou, from Aktaia – The Greek Alliance for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Aquaculture, said: ”We are aghast at the pillaging of wild fish populations off the coasts of Africa, Latin America and Asia to produce feed for the fish farms which are blighting our lives here in Greece and throughout the Mediterranean.

“This is not food security. It’s theft: taking fish from the hungry to feed a polluting export industry. We are the voice of the coastal communities, and we will not be silenced. Our seas are not for sale. Our fight is for the future of Greece – and we will not give up.”

ENDS

[1] European Union, “About EU Aquaculture – European Union,” accessed April 4, 2025, https://eu-aquaculture.campaign.europa. eu/about-eu-aquaculture_en.

[2] Alexandra Heal et al., “The Hidden Cost of Your Supermarket Salmon,” The Financial Times, January 31, 2024, https://ig.ft.com/supermarket-salmon.

[3] Hellenic Aquaculture Producers Organization, “2024 Annual Report: Aquaculture in Greece,” 2024, https://fishfromgreece.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/HAPO_AR24_WEB_v5.pdf.

[4] European Commission, “Greece Will Receive €364 Million from the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund 2021-2027,” December 1, 2022, https://oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/news/greece-will-receive-eu364-million-european-maritime-fisheries-and-aquaculture-fund-2021-2027-2022-12-01_en.

Our exciting move from Foodrise to Foodrise has been a long time coming. It means we finally have a name that reflects who we are and what we stand for. We are a small but mighty team of audacious activists – taking often unlikely action in pursuit of exposing systemic issues within our food system right the way from farm to fork.  

‘Food’ is our focus, and ‘rise’ reflects how we create change.  Through bold action, community collaboration and systemic shifts. Foodrise reflects the wide scope of our world-changing work and move – almost a decade ago – from a single-issue charity focusing on the scourge of food waste to one tackling issues right across the food system.  

We work at the grass roots and grass tips. Taking on the corporate control of our food system which normalises over-production and exposing its colonial legacy and need for reparations. While showing a better way is possible through our community projects in Merseyside, Sussex, Buckinghamshire, and in The Hague in the Netherlands. 

We now – as Foodrise – have a name that is fit for purpose for our broad, audacious and ambitious work in the UK, EU and globally.  

Our history   

We held our first ever ‘Feeding the 5000’ event in London’s Trafalgar Square back in 2009. Thousands were introduced to the shocking levels of waste in our food system – while enjoying a delicious meal . A global movement was born leading to similar events all around Europe and resulting in long-lasting policy change on food waste.  

Then we officially registered as a charity and became Foodrise in 2013, founded by Tristram Stuart and Nikki Charalampopoulou to shine a light on food waste. Our founders’ impact was significant as they exposed the social scandal and environmental tragedy of food waste, and positioned it as an environment issue.  

Following Carina Millstone’s appointment as Executive Director in 2017, and with Frank Mechielsen at the helm in the Netherlands since 2021, we have grown into so much more than a voice against food waste. 

Transforming the food system 

We are confronting the structural drivers of injustice in our food system — from exposing the financiers of the global livestock industry to advancing community-led alternatives across Liverpool and Knowsley. All with an unwavering commitment to equity, justice and anti-oppression.   

From legal challenges and hard-hitting research to supporting movements on the ground, our work now spans the UK, Europe, and globally. Including the founding of Foodrise EU in 2022 to broaden our impact in the European Union, and strengthen involvement with EU food policy development, civil society coalitions and create alternative local food environments in the Netherlands. 

We are Foodrise  

But we still needed a name that reflects the breadth of our expanded, turbo-charged mission. At this critical moment — as climate breakdown accelerates, nature collapses, and millions face hunger and poor health — Foodrise captures our readiness to rise to challenge and our vision for the future that works for people and for planet.  

We are a moment of crisis and opportunity. We are seeing the impact of climate change being felt – the geopolitical implications on food security, records numbers of children living in poverty. The worst harvest in 40 years. The wettest 18 months on record followed by the hottest ever spring. The decline of nature. 

Our shift to Foodrise is a pivotal moment — one that positions us to amplify our voice, grow our impact, and build momentum in the fight for a just food system. We want more and more people to know who we are and what we do.  

We’re rising up with fresh energy and a deeper commitment to transform the food system. For climate, nature and justice. Thank you for rising with us.

Frank Mechielsen, Director at Foodrise in the EU  

Carina Millstone, Executive Director at Foodrise in the UK

One year ago, seven organisations in six different countries started to collaborate on a project to amplify the voices of citizens and advocate for better food environments and challenging supermarkets to provide and make accessible healthy, just, sustainable, and affordable food for all.

Together with ALTAA and CAN-F from France, CECU from Spain, Foodrise in the UK, Green REV Institute in Poland and Terra! from Italy, Foodrise EU have formed the Food Voices Coalition. The Healthy Food Healthy Planet consortium funds the project and stands  out by placing great importance on the learning aspect within a project. This approach allowed us space to test and experiment with new approaches, to reflect on our experiences and to question our own assumptions.

A year is a short time to harvest results, especially if you also must learn how to cooperate as a coalition, with different types of non-governmental organisations working at different levels with different mandates and languages. Therefore, we proudly present our many results so far.

Mobilise food voices: working with communities

The activities with communities have been very diverse, ranging from research to high involvement in Food Policy Councils, from starting a lawsuit at the European Court of Justice to protect communities, to engaging in dialogues with marginalised groups (deprived areas, youth, housewives) and from sub granting community gardens to advocacy to maintain public local markets.

In Spain, CECU (Confederation of Consumers and Users ) is one of the nine plaintiffs, along with Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth and others,  taking the Galician authorities to the European Court of Justice to stop the decades-long pollution from intensive livestock farming in the As Conchas reservoir that makes the life in the communities “unviable”. CECU has co-organised the second Annual Meeting of “Nos Plantamos”, a food sovereignty movement to build a collective agenda that promotes and supports agroecological models of agriculture, livestock and consumption. Furthermore, CECU has collaborated with the “NoWasteLawCollective” to jointly advocate for improvements in the legislative process for the new Spanish law on food waste and has worked with  organisations from various sectors to influence the National Food Strategy (by developing proposals, public positions and demands to policy makers.

Terra! in Italy plays a key role in the Rome Food Policy Council (FPC). They have been instrumental in bringing this concept to life  and their efforts have been recognised as their director has been elected as the first president of the FPC. They have prepared the Council’s tables in particular on food poverty and on food waste in consultation with civil society organisations, farmers’ organisations, representatives of actors in the food chain and policy makers. The FPC has submitted a proposal for the introduction of a “Green Menu” and this is now legally approved by the Metropolitan Government. As a result, all public schools in the territory of Rome, from kindergarten to high school, will have a plant-based menu one day in the month. Terra! has worked on a methodological approach for an innovative study with a community in Rome to undertake action-research aiming to change the perspective and narrative on food poverty.

The Green REV Institute in Poland has worked with scouts, and schools to organise educational workshops and with rural housewives’ clubs to establish community gardens by providing  small grants. They have organised Safe Food Days in five cities, including debates with residents, film screenings and local producer markets.

In the United Kingdom, Foodrise UK has been working at the micro level with local communities in the second poorest area of the UK, encouraging them to use their voices and to contribute to reports on food surplus redistribution.

Foodrise EU conducted research in a deprived area of The Hague in the Netherlands to investigate how the residents in a food swamp would like to improve their food environment. This led to the concept of democratic supermarkets, a place with a positive social, economic and environmental impact on the neighbourhood. A meeting with the residents was organised to provide feedback on the findings and to elaborate further on the concept of a democratic supermarket. A video was made and shared through our website and on YouTube to stimulate discussion. As a result, a researcher from the University of Twente approached us to collaborate in a study.

ALTAA ( Alliance pour les Transitions Agricoles et Alimentaires)  in France developed a supermarket escape game for children to learn about healthy food (see video).

CAN-F (Climate Action Network France) set up two series of five workshops that have been implemented by Secours Catholique and Act Against Hunger France in 2 different locations, about the problems and expectations that people facing food poverty deal with when shopping in supermarkets. This work fed the co-construction of policy recommendations by CAN France and its partners (including Secours Catholique, Act Against Hunger France, consumer groups and health associations) and contributed to CAN-F’s report on supermarkets. A short movie (17 minutes) was finally produced and will be released in May.

Strengthening sub-national coalitions, influencing local and regional policy makers.

CECU has contributed to a joint manifesto forwarded to the local and regional governments in the Valencia area to reclaim the public function of local markets that are under threat of disappearing.

Green REV undertook several advocacy efforts with the office of the Prime Minister and had a meeting at the Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment. They forwarded three demands regarding the right to consumer information, especially the labelling on climate impact. Green REV involved local communities, young people and local councillors in the Food Safety Days.

Two Local Students Conventions for Sustainable Food (in Paris and in Lyon), initiated by the Students’ network for a sustainable and cohesive society, has included a “supermarket” section. The project started in November 2024, gathered 60 students from both cities and included four webinars, three days of training, two weekends of activities and training, and (forthcoming) one day of feedback on policy recommendations for local governments. Concerning mass retail specifically, the students have realised store visits and data collection in supermarkets, took part into debate and co-construction of recommendations, and produced report quotes and short videos for joint campaigning with CAN France in May 2025.

ALTAA has published an online toolbox with 35 action levers and over 200 good practice initiatives to help sub-national actors in their actions to change food environments towards healthier and more plant-based diets. This toolbox includes action on retail which will be enriched by the conclusions and learnings of the Food Voices Coalition project.

Foodrise UK has been working on the Liverpool Food Plan and contributed to the Northern Food and Farming group on procurement.

Foodrise EU actively participated in the Plant the Future event with organising a round table uniting different actors (resident, municipality, supermarket owner, scientist, local food network, short chain supplier) to discuss the experiences of food voices in Moerwijk. Foodrise EU also supported the presence of residents in the city council committee meeting debating a supermarket in this area. The establishment of a supermarket in that deprived area is now included in the food strategy of The Hague.

Influencing retailers and alternative models

CECU contributed to the creation of a union around consumer rights with agricultural organizations, environmental organisations, social and solidarity economy and ethical banking actors with the main objective to articulate local food systems that are an alternative to supermarkets and that meet the needs of the most vulnerable producers and consumers.

Green REV conducted a study entitled “Why do young people choose unhealthy food?” and will publish a report in August 2025. They approached the Prime Minister with the request to regulate the promotion of unhealthy food in supermarkets and prepared materials for members of parliament regarding facilitations for small farmers and direct sales.

Within the FVC project, CAN France has been able to develop its second ‘Meat and Climate scorecard’ while conducting a study firstly on the barriers and levers to the just and ecological food transition in the mass retail sector, and secondly on the best practices of retailers in Europe in this transition. CAN France co-constructed its policy recommendations with consumer groups, health associations, students and charity organisations. These different strands of work will be gathered in a global report to be published in May.

ALTAA is a network of 90 allies and a wider circle of 600 public and private organisations. It has embarked on a collective action program to explore shifts in the offer and practices of supermarkets at sub-national level, to accelerate change in food environments and ensure that everyone has access to healthy, sustainable and affordable food. It conducted research to framing the issue with experts and retailers at the national and local level. Four pilot projects have started to experiment with working with retailers at the local level. An audit tool is being developed with the aim of stopping organic products being dereferenced, and to create events/tastings of organic products in supermarkets (Interbio Occitanie). Collective workshops involving supermarkets to gain a better understanding of the issues, obstacles and interests of the various stakeholders and to facilitate collective mobilisation in favour of the transition in the region (Grenobles Alpes Métropole). The Conseil départemental de la Seine-Saint-Denis has set up a cash-first monetary transfer system with a bonus for sustainable products that can be used in supermarket shops, and to provide support for users. The fourth pilot (Club Drômois de l’Alimentation) is set up to offer technical support to increase sales of local and sustainable products in supermarkets, to organise events to create sustainable relationships between distributors and producers/processors, and to facilitate networking.

Foodrise UK conducted an ethnographic study while running the Queen of Greens, a mobile greengrocer service. This study is awaiting publication but it demonstrates that this service is an alternative retail model. The model has been included in a UK Research and Innovation grant for a study in collaboration with the University of Liverpool that seeks to address dietary inequalities for people living in social housing.

Foodrise EU joint a campaign on retailers with the Transition Coalition Food and other allies. We participate in a working group to promote plant-based protein and a joint website will be launched soon. We also participate in the VoedselAnders network, a national network that brings together alternative food initiatives.

The way forward

We are still busy implementing our activities and at the same time already in the middle of a process to capture our learnings, to analyse and to communicate these in a document that we call the “Menu of Food Voices”. We will share some preliminary findings during the Annual Forum of HFHP in June 2025, in Poland. Finally, we also plan for a public campaign in the summer months.

The Hague, 7 April 2025

Frank Mechielsen will step down as Director of Foodrise in the EU in the summer of 2025 to make way for new leadership during a year of significant repositioning for the organisation. He will be succeeded by a new director, with the recruitment process starting today.

Mechielsen said:
“The past few years have been an incredible rollercoaster, working with an ambitious team to put Foodrise on the European map. I’m proud of the impact we’ve made through campaigns on meat and farmed fish, biomethane, and local food policy — all aimed at challenging and changing policies in both Brussels and The Hague. In collaboration with Foodrise in the UK and partners across the Netherlands and Europe, we’ve shown that the food transition can only be truly sustainable and just if all voices are heard. With changing times globally and an important organisational repositioning ahead, this feels like the right moment to pass the baton.”

Gemma Verhoeven, Chair of Foodrise EU, added:
“On behalf of the entire board, we are deeply grateful to Frank for his tireless dedication, professionalism, creativity, and passion in building Foodrise EU. We are impressed by the achievements of Frank and the team. The foundations have been laid, and we look forward to entering a new phase with a new director.”

Yesterday, the European Commission launched a campaign to promote the consumption of EU aquaculture products. However, our research and campaigns have shown the devastating consequences of the aquaculture sector, particularly the farmed salmon industry.

That is why, together with CFFA-CAPE, Compassion in World Farming, Eurogroup for Animals, Seas at Risk, and the European Institute for Animal Law and Policy, we signed a joint statement urging the Commission to promote only those practices that meet the highest standards of animal welfare, environmental protection, and social sustainability.

Read the full statement here

This week, our EU Advocacy Officer Maximilian Herzog was invited to speak at the conference ‘People first: Centring the Just Transition in EU Policy’, hosted in the European Parliament by the Left group. 

In his intervention, he made clear that without a radical change of our food systems, there simply won’t be a successful Green Deal and a truly just transition! 1/3 of all global emissions are attributed to the way that we produce and consume food. Food shapes our culture, our communities, our health, our happiness. And at the same time the reality is that our food system produces injustices at European, local, as well as global level.

That’s why we need to empower people and especially women, young people, and marginalized groups; and also put animal rights at the heart of the transition:

• Be it at food banks all over Europe as people simply cannot afford healthy meals and to go into the supermarket

• Be it in the suburb of The Hague, Moerwijk, where Foodrise EU is assisting a community in their journey towards access to healthy and affordable food

• Be it at the coast of Western Africa and Senegal, where we work with partners and communities that see their basic nutrition, small fish, being depleted for fish meal and fish oil production – which then is used as feed for salmon production in the Global North.

• Be it our partners in the community of Gort, Ireland, that fight against a biogas plant the size of their entire village, without serious offers to make their voices heard.
• Be it the animals that are being used not only to produce meat and dairy in cruel conditions, but should now also produce energy in the form of biogas and biomethane from manure. 

The question must always be: are we only treating the symptoms of injustice, while promoting false solutions? Or are we truly changing the food system, ultimately strengthening the trust in European institutions?

Thank you to Anja Hazekamp, Per Clausen, and Lynn Boylan as well as the staff of the Left group (especially Ciara Barry) who made this conference possible.

Thank you also to our co-panelists Nienke Blauw (a Dutch activist campaigning against PFAS pollution), Dr Aparajita Banerjee  (UCD Just Transition Centre) and Corinna Ziergold (IndustriAll) for your important and inspiring work at European, national, and local level!

Watch the intervention below or find the full recording of the session here.