As the EU wrestles with the future of its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Europe is facing disruption across the agrifood sector that threatens the continent’s food security and a focus on animal health could help.
From outbreaks of new livestock diseases to global trade and geopolitical uncertainty, farmers have faced a confluence of challenging circumstances, with many taking to the streets to call for more support and fairer subsidies.
With such turbulence across the sector, stabilising Europe’s internal and domestic agricultural markets is all the more important to protect food security across the bloc.
And one of the most cost-effective ways to achieve this in the livestock sector, is by ensuring animal health is the common thread through agricultural and environmental policies.
Healthier animals mean fewer disease outbreaks, higher productivity, more competitive trade, lower emissions, and stronger food security, offering one of the most rewarding routes to building a resilient and sustainable agricultural system in Europe.
Animal health
Despite rigorous control efforts, recent animal disease outbreaks have placed a significant strain on Europe’s food security and economic stability.
A single case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in buffalo in 2025 cost the German economy an estimated €1 billion in both direct disease control costs and indirect costs through trade restrictions.
In Greece, more than €350 million in losses followed widespread culling during the Sheep and Goats Pox (SGP) outbreak between 2024 and 2025, with declines in milk and meat production and trade restrictions on live animals further undermining production.
These outbreaks are not isolated challenges; they are evolving risks that will continue to weaken internal markets if preventive measures are not scaled up.
Animal diseases already account for nearly 20% of global livestock production losses every year.
In Europe, these losses easily translate into millions of tonnes of lost meat and dairy products, rising prices of food, and wasted natural resources including land, water, and feed.
Without stronger prevention measures, animal diseases risk undermining ongoing access to affordable, sustainable food – a key priority of this year’s World Food Day, which calls for action to make better use of the planet’s natural resources and leave no one behind.
Integrating animal health into farm and food systems policies offers European countries a cost-effective route to sustainably safeguard production, trade and food security.
E.g., doubling vaccination coverage in Germany against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) could save 65.6 million pork servings, alongside 21.9 million kg of feed and 71,000m² of land otherwise wasted on pigs lost to disease, a new report shows.
In the UK, improving cattle health could reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by 10%, directly supporting climate goals and net-zero commitments.
And France’s poultry vaccination campaign against bird flu in 2023 is further proof of the benefits of healthier animals in food systems: every €1 invested in vaccination saved more than €13 in avoided animal losses, while also stabilising food supply and exports.
Action
The benefits of healthier animals often ripple through entire value chains, from reduced feed imports to lower consumer prices.
To unlock these sustainability benefits, EU policymakers must be prepared to take decisive steps that place animal health at the centre of agricultural reform.
This involves including funding for preventative animal health measures as part of the economic, environmental, and social mechanisms in the ongoing CAP review.
It also means expanding EU co-financing for veterinary innovation and next-generation vaccines to ensure Europe remains competitive in disease prevention technologies.
Additionally, supporting data-sharing platforms that improve early disease detection and surveillance across borders will strengthen Europe’s preparedness against future outbreaks.
These measures would ensure animal health is treated not just as a veterinary tool, but as a powerful sustainability strategy that boosts yields, reduces waste, and supports fair livelihoods without any political downside.
Every animal lost to disease in Europe represents not only less food for European markets but also wasted water, land, and feed.
As Europe debates the future of its agricultural policy, investing in animal health is the rare sustainability measure that benefits farmers, consumers, and policymakers.
Expanding investments in and support for better animal health would be both an act of solidarity aligned with the proposed Vision for Agriculture and Food 2040, and a safeguard for food security, the economy, and our environment.
From Roxane Feller, director general, AnimalhealthEurope
