The rise of megafarms in Europe: Policy loopholes, meat industry growth and land grabs

Agricultural associations and animal welfare groups are calling for legislative change following the findings of an investigation released last week into the emergence of mega livestock farms throughout the EU and UK. The project, led by journalists at AGtivist, found over 24,000 large-scale farms, each containing tens of thousands of animals in cramped conditions.

Megafarms, common in the US, are defined as having more than 125,000 broiler chickens, 82,000 laying hens, or 2500 pigs.

This investigation tracked all farms containing over 40,00 chickens, 2,000 fattening pigs, or 750 sows. Using satellite imagery and freedom of information requests, the investigators found at least 10,862 chicken farms of this size and 8,854 pig farms.

In the past decade, 2,746 such farms started operations in the EU, with the highest rate of development happening in Spain (1,385). Over 5,300 permits for industrial farms of varying sizes were granted in the same period, bringing the EU’s total to over 24,000.

This growth signals the collapse of smaller farms throughout the continent. Between 2005 and 2020, the EU lost 5.3 million farms — mostly small holdings — spurred by corporate consolidation. This represents a decrease of 44% in 15 years. 

Meanwhile, the number of megafarms grew by 56% over the same period, with the top 8% of the highest-producing farms controlling 63% of the livestock in the EU. The income disparities between these farms increased by up to sixtyfold. 

A spokesperson for European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC), which represents small-scale farmers and agricultural workers, tells Food Ingredients First that this “worrying concentration of livestock” brings the EU beyond its land’s carrying capacity and is the result of faults in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). 

CAP faults and reforms

Decoupled payments, a system of subsidies issued under CAP legislation dating back to 2003, reward agricultural producers based on land size. While the system was intended to reduce overproduction and environmental harm, in practice, it favors producers with the most land, ECVC explains. 

This leads to corporate producers acquiring more land and consolidating smaller businesses to acquire more subsidies. While small-scale and peasant farmers could maintain greater biodiversity through agroecological practices, land grabbing is incentivized.

“We need to shift from the decoupled payments to a cap supporting market regulation that controls the prices controlling the volumes,” the ECVC spokesperson says. “Meat corporations organize and lobby against this to produce more and compete by exporting onto international markets.” 

Map showing all industrial livestock farms throughout Europe.“We need concordance between the livestock and the carrying capacity of the land, meaning that you cannot have too many livestock in one single area, but with the CAP, we’ve seen a worrying build-up. This is detrimental to the ecosystem.”

Welfare and environmental damage

Inês Grenho Ajuda, Eurogroup for Animals’ Farm Animals program leader, explains that industrial farms can avoid detection by avoiding reporting thresholds. 

“Below a certain threshold of the number of animals reared, new animal production units do not even require specific permits according to EU legislation, so these operations remain well under the radar, with many units known to house animals just below the threshold to avoid reporting,” she explains.

“Opposition from local communities can be kept quiet because it is often very limited geographically.”

“These megafarms do not only have repercussions on animal welfare. They have a heavy environmental footprint, producing vast amounts of waste that can pollute water sources and damage aquatic ecosystems,” Grenho Ajuda continues. 

“Air pollution is another consequence, with farms releasing gases like ammonia and methane that contribute to both local air quality issues and global climate change. Additionally, the intensive cultivation of feed crops needed to support these farms often leads to soil degradation, deforestation, and unsustainable land use.” 

Economy of scale

Despite the size of these industrial farms, some argue that the scale of most is relatively small. Some poultry units were found to house more than 1.4 million chickens at a time, and the biggest pig farms identified held over 30,000 animals. 

Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association, tells us that the findings need to be contextualized on a global scale. 

“What gets labeled as megafarms over here is nothing compared to what is going on in other parts of the world like China, the US, and South America.” 

He also says that for Europe’s industry to remain competitive, scaling up is necessary, which naturally brings consolidation. 

A spokesperson for the UK’s National Farmers Union says: “UK farmers are committed to high standards of animal welfare, food safety and environmental protection. British farms — whatever their size or system — operate within some of the highest animal health, welfare, and environmental standards in the world, enforced through robust regulations and driven by strong public and retailer expectations.

 But Grenho Ajuda says industrial production of this kind should not be defined as “farming.” 

“It is, to all practical effects, a gigantic industry that treats sentient beings as mere commodities.”