Sustainable lamb meat production for Europe

Sheep production is a crucial sector of human activity. There are an estimated 1 billion sheep in the world. The major sheep farming areas are located within the latitudes 35-55 degree north in Europe and Asia and between 30-45 degree south in South America, Australia and New Zealand. There are three major management systems for sheep production that exist in the world; extensive production for wool and meat, intensive dairy production and traditional pastoralism. While regarded by some experts as the healthy red meat option, the current world consumption of sheep meat stands at about 2.5 kg per person annually out of an annual meat consumption of 41.6 kg per person*1. In the European Union (EU), sheep meat production is predominantly based on extensive or semi-extensive grazing systems. The level of self-sufficiency in the EU for this sector stands at approximately 77% and holds great importance as a major source of livelihood for the small farmer and the landless in rural communities while also contributing to peri-urban and urban households by providing food, clothing, income and other socio-cultural wealth. Consequently, increasing sheep meat production without causing environmental damage, as well as improving its quality to make sheep meat more healthy, attractive and sustainable is essential to guaranteeing a decent level of performance for sheep producers.