Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive and quantifiable information regarding the sustainability and resilience of environmentally friendly European Livestock Production Systems (ELPS). The Horizon-funded STEP UP Project addresses this gap and aims at giving policymakers clear information on the effects (both positive and negative) of raising animals and better farming methods throughout Europe. Part of this project aims to map foresight studies and identify the factors that influence scenarios (drivers) and the synergies and trade-offs between impacts in order to build scenario archetypes, as well as highlight possibly neglected drivers, impacts, or externalities. The result of this task informed the scenario building being currently carried out.

In this work, we conducted a meta-analysis of foresight studies considering the time horizon post-2020 - 2050, in which the possible futures of European livestock productions were described. The originality of the approach consisted in constructing ‘sets of possible futures’ based on existing foresight exercises and the extraction of key variables. The method is inspired by systematic reviews developed in particular in the biomedical and environmental sciences field and by the French research project ScenEnvi, which compared international environmental scenarios and aggregated them in “archetypal families” . The aim was to identify the different families of scenarios built by European politics, scientific and economic stakeholders involved in these foresight exercises, and to identify any externalities or impacts of livestock systems that were neglected in these studies.

Using a multiple correspondence analysis, our analysis resulted in seven families of scenarios:
1. “Economically successful intensive bet”;
2. “Intensification with limited success”;
3. “Sustainable technology and green growth for cattle”;
4. “Governance by an organised sector: between modernisation, labelling and management of environmental impacts”;
5. “Coexistence and segmentation”;
6. “Sustainable efficiency and protectionism”;
7. “(Much) less but better”.

The cross comparison of the seven scenario families reveals a clear gradient from deregulated, high output intensification (families 1–2) towards tightly regulated, socio ecological transitions (families 6–7), with families 3–5 occupying intermediate, hybrid positions.

Taken together, these scenarios portray a coherent narrative arc. Early families represent globalised, technology driven intensification with minimal societal oversight. Mid range families experiment with sustainable intensification and coexistence, balancing productivity with emergent ethical environmental norms. The final families embody a paradigmatic shift: strong public (and local) governance, eco centric regulation, reduced trade dependency, territorial re embedding of LPS and widespread adoption of agro ecological principles.

FOODCITYBOOST is a trailblazing project that will help develop the foundations for turning urban jungles into lush, green, food-producing hubs! We imagine cities where rooftops, balconies, and even vertical spaces are bursting with greenery and fresh produce. This is the future that FOODCITYBOOST is planting seeds for, whilst tackling the major contemporary difficulties such as: climate change, biodiversity loss, and the great divide between urban, peri-urban, and rural areas.

Considering prevalent trends, such as population growth, increasing demand for animal protein, land use change, and resource scarcity, a blueprint for future crops may help prioritise sustainable and efficient agriculture practices, as well as improved food systems. CropBooster-P, funded under the Horizon 2020 Programme, is a project that aimed to find a solution to this question by looking into innovative crop-breeding technologies for improving climate adaptability, resource use efficiency, yield, and quality.

4Growth will showcase the uptake of digital technologies and data through the “4Growth Visualisation Platform” that will combine powerful storytelling with advanced visualisations of the market.

This 3-year Horizon Europe project, funded by the European Commission, brings together 13 partners with the aim of understanding where, how and to what extent digital technologies and data are being adopted within the agricultural and forestry sectors. The project started in January 2024 and will end in December 2026.