A forward-looking analysis of challenges facing the meat sector[Réflexion prospective sur les enjeux d'avenir de la filière viande]

The celebration of ADIV's 50th anniversary, which took place on 19 November 2025 in Clermont-Ferrand, provided an opportunity for the "Institut Technique Agro-Industriel (ITAI)" – which specialises in meat products – to look to the future through a series of forward-looking conferences on upcoming challenges in the fields of processing, nutrition and consumption. They were complemented by a presentation on the US beef industry, provided as an external perspective by François Léger, president of the American slaughter and processing company FPL FOOD, based in Augusta (Georgia). The presentations highlighted some of the expected developments in the meat industry. Gilles Trystram, former director of AgroParisTech and director of Génopole, emphasised the need for the food industry to move towards ‘sustainable processing' in the coming years, with processes that have a lower impact in terms of energy and resource use, and increasing use of digital technologies. Didier Rémond, research director at the human nutrition unit of INRAE in Clermont-Ferrand, discussed the essential balances that must be maintained to meet nutritional needs whilst reducing the consumption of animal products. Finally, Bruno Hérault, head of the Centre for Studies and Forecasting at the Ministry of Agriculture, Agri-Food and Food Sovereignty (MAASA), discussed the upheavals in food practices and systems in recent years and their potential implications for the organisation of the meat sector.