Over 80 percent of EU agricultural subsidies go to animal products. Grain, vegetable or fruit production only accounts for around 18 percent of the money.
Meat and animal products provide just over a third of the calories needed in the EU. At the same time, meat, cheese and milk are responsible for 84 percent of greenhouse gases in agriculture, while growing vegetables causes far fewer emissions. The majority of Dutch scientists advocate that EU subsidies for agriculture should finally be restructured according to environmental and climate criteria, also because farmers themselves will ultimately be affected by climate change.