France launches the voluntary, collaborative initiative “Demain le Porc”

The French swine industry has launched the voluntary and collaborative initiative “Demain le Porc” with five main objectives that aim to ensure sustainability, competitiveness, and welfare in the swine sector by 2035:

• Food sovereignty: the objective is to ensure a sufficient supply of profitable and equitable French pork. The goal is that, by 2035, 1 out of 2 products on the market will bear the “Le Porc Français” label, created in 2014, and to achieve 100% food self-sufficiency.
• Ensuring the industry's future: seek to improve working conditions and encourage generational replacement. Currently, one-third of pig producers are over 55 years of age, which makes replacement difficult. The goal is to ensure that 100% of the farms are transferred to new generations and to comply with the quality of life at work indicators.
• Environmental protection: the swine industry is committed to reducing its environmental impact with the goal of reducing water use in slaughterhouses with purification stations by 15%, and ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions by 25% compared to 2015.
• Sanitary safety: the industry seeks to increase guarantees in food safety and public health. By 2035, sanitary control will be reinforced, the use of antibiotics in pigs and the nitrite content in meat products will be further reduced, as French charcuteries currently contain 20% less nitrites than European ones.
• Animal welfare: Animal welfare is a priority. Since 2022, live castration has been banned and, since 2021, welfare diagnostics have been implemented in slaughterhouses. By 2035, the industry aims for 50% of sows to be free-range, 100% of long-haul trucks to ensure animal comfort, and 100% of slaughterhouses to carry out interprofessional animal welfare diagnostics.

With this initiative, the French pork industry is committed to moving towards a more sustainable, efficient, and ethical model.