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In the fight against nitrogen emissions, billions have been invested in low-emission barns, air scrubbers, and modified animal feed. Not only do these measures have little effect, but they also endanger the health of cows, pigs, and chickens, experts warn in an article by Aliëtte Jonkers in De Volkskrant on October 18, 2025.

Among those interviewed for the article is Professor of Farm Animal Health Arjan Stegeman. Animal welfare is a blind spot in nitrogen policy, he says. “What was once a valued means of production has now become an environmental problem.” As a result, the government mainly looks for simple solutions to the nitrogen crisis without recognizing the broader consequences. “The moment you start turning one dial, a cascade of unintended effects can follow. The problem with animal health is that it almost always comes last.”

Paradoxical system

According to Stegeman, the government sees animal health primarily as a private matter for farmers. “The authorities limit themselves to statutory animal diseases and zoonoses, such as foot-and-mouth disease or Q fever. As soon as it concerns farm-related conditions—lameness and mastitis in dairy cattle, respiratory problems in pigs, wing fractures and bruises in chickens—the government considers it the sector’s responsibility.”

This, Stegeman argues, leads to a paradoxical system. The sector monitors itself through a series of quality assurance schemes—some mandatory, others voluntary—while the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) only conducts random inspections. The two parties do not cooperate; they don’t even share information. As a result, well-intentioned farmers who participate in voluntary checks may be visited several times a month, while the bad actors can slip through the cracks.

Fragmented nitrogen policy

Also featured in the article is Professor of Sustainable Animal Stewardship, Frank Meijboom, who believes the government’s fragmented nitrogen policy has failed both farmers and animals. According to him, an integrated vision is lacking: nitrogen is at the center of attention, while health, animal welfare, and the landscape fade into the background.

Meijboom compares this to a DJ who only opens one slider on the mixing panel: “If you turn up only the bass, the music sounds awful—but we just pretend it’s beautiful.” The same, he says, applies to years of investment in technological innovations. “The €2.4 billion spent on low-emission barns has solved almost nothing, but it bought politicians some time. You can carry on for a few more years—and then the problem comes crashing back onto your plate.”

Indicator of sustainability

On (in Dutch), Stegeman commented on the article: “The health, behavior, and welfare of animals are not only a moral compass but also an indicator of sustainability. A farming system that is not good for animals is ultimately not good for people or the environment. That’s why it’s time to put the animal back at the center of our choices about the future of livestock farming.”