Animal welfare at the heart of the food chain in Europe. Digital innovation for a sustainable transition

The ClearFarm project, funded by the European Commission's H2020 programme (grant agreement n° 862919), will hold its final event in Brussels and online on Wednesday 14 February 2024 - 'Animal welfare at the heart of the food chain in Europe. Digital innovation for a sustainable transition'. On the day, key stakeholders from different sectors across Europe will come together to reflect on the use of new technologies to improve animal welfare throughout the food chain.

The project's researchers have developed and validated a digital platform that integrates information collected by various sensors installed on dairy cattle and pig farms. The resulting tool allows consumers and farmers to make informed decisions about buying food of animal origin and about the care of animals at different stages of their lives.

The first part of the event will focus on similar research experiences from other EU-funded initiatives on animal welfare and digitalisation. The TechCare, aWISH and PPILLOW projects will present common challenges and outstanding developments.

To familiarise the audience with the potential of the ClearFarm system, a practical demonstration by the project leaders will describe the full development process and the operational details of the platform.

The final round table will bring together a cross-sectoral panel of representatives from agriculture, industry, academia, NGOs and government: Pol Llonch, from UAB and technical coordinator of ClearFarm; Miguel Ángel Higuera, from Copa-Cogeca; Andrea Gavinelli, from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE); Mar Maestre, from the consultancy firm ICF; and Inés Ajuda, from the Eurogroup for Animals, will take part in the round table moderated by environmental journalist Andrea Bertaglio. The debate will focus on the challenges of developing innovative solutions for the comprehensive assessment of animal welfare and ClearFarm's contribution to the current needs of different stakeholders.