People watch a flock of sheep during the annual parade on the streets of Madrid, as shepherds demand to exercise their right to use traditional migration routes for their livestock from northern Spain to winter grazing pasture land in southern Spain, October 24, 2021. Photo: Reuters

Debate over the environmental impact of Spain's huge factory farming sector is heating up in the country, Europe's biggest meat consumer, and splitting its ruling coalition.

In an interview published in British daily The Guardian, Consumer Affairs Minister Alberto Garzon lashed out against Spain's "so-called mega-farms," calling them unsustainable.

"They find a village in a depopulated bit of Spain and put in 4,000, or 5,000, or 10,000 head of cattle," he said. 

"They pollute the soil, they pollute the water and then they export this poor quality meat from these ill-treated animals."

Garzon is the coordinator of the tiny United Left party, a junior member of the minority coalition government led by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and his comments angered farmers. "There are no mistreated animals in Spain, minister," the UPA union, which represents small producers, said in a statement. 

It said Garzon's statements were "based on falsehoods, clumsy, nearsighted and could have harmful effects on Spanish meat exports."

Pablo Casado, leader of the conservative main opposition Popular Party (PP) which is strong in some rural areas, also weighed in, calling Garzon's words "an attack against ranchers and farmers and the image of our country."

The debate risks deepening the divide between the Socialists and left-wing coalition partner Podemos ahead of an election in the Castile and Leon region north of Madrid as the PP rides high in the polls.

Garzon had already come under fire for urging Spaniards to reduce their meat consumption, prompting Sanchez to say that for him "there's nothing that beats a well done steak."

For Salvador Calvet, a University of Valencia professor who studies the sector, the outcry over Garzon's comments is due to the cultural and economic weight of livestock farming, which provides a living for "many families."

Greenpeace was one of several environmental groups which backed Garzon, who has also come under fire for banning adverts for sugary foods aimed at children and a crackdown on the betting industry.

"There is a legitimate debate" over the environmental impact of livestock breeding but the reality is "complex and nuanced," said Calvet.

AFP