The Azores Meat Summit, an event dedicated to promoting meat produced in the archipelago and discussing the future of the regional agricultural and livestock sector, brings together producers, chefs, entrepreneurs, and institutional representatives to discuss innovation, sustainability, and competitiveness. At the start of the event, the Regional Secretary for Agriculture, António Ventura, announced the European Commission’s approval of the Azores Agricultural Federation’s proposal to amend the specification for Azorean meat, allowing more products to benefit from the PGI designation.

The region is hosting a meeting dedicated to meat produced in the archipelago. The Azores Meat Summit 2025, a three-day event for “sharing knowledge, experiences, and inspiration” that promotes the Azores as “a territory of excellence in meat production and a global benchmark in agri-food sustainability,” runs until tomorrow.

The event brings together producers, chefs, entrepreneurs, and institutional representatives to promote dialogue on innovation, sustainability, and the enhancement of local production.

“Azorean meat, recognized for its authentic flavor and natural pasture breeding, will be the center of attention, standing out as a benchmark product on the national and international scene,” reads the note published on the social media of the Regional Secretary of Agriculture.

The opening session, which took place at the premises of the Agricultural Development Service of São Miguel, was attended by the Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Food, António Ventura, the President of the Agricultural Federation of the Azores, Jorge Rita, and the President of the Regional Association of Sheep and Goat Breeders of the Azores (ARCOA), Aníbal Moura.

Yesterday morning also featured a panel discussion entitled “From Pasture to Plate: The Promising Future of Beef in São Miguel,” moderated by Fernando Barbosa and featuring speaker João Sequeira, both from the São Miguel Agricultural Development Service.

During the session, the Regional Secretary for Agriculture stated that these events serve to “promote this food beyond borders,” bringing in chefs and new ways of processing meat from the Azores, with the aim of “rewarding and bringing the name of the Azores to international markets.”

“For three days, we will talk about beef and lamb. About what is done best in the Azores and about this food that is so nutritious, that is so ours and that we know how to produce so well on our pastures.”

For António Ventura, meat from the Azores is currently experiencing “good market conditions, there is high demand, and prices have been good, both for producers and in terms of processing.” He also states that the Regional Government and the Agricultural Federation have “contributed to maintaining these same prices.”

Jorge Rita, however, says that “we cannot rest on our laurels in this matter.” He notes that, in conversations with producers, the expectation is that, in the near future, “there may still be slight increases,” but that someday “the situation may reverse,” emphasizing that “the work must always be done” and that “when we are at our best, that is when we must clearly secure the entire situation.”

The President of the Agricultural Federation stressed that “agriculture remains the basis of the regional economy”:

“We know from politicians’ speeches that tourism is now everything (…) Without milk and meat, without these products, the Azores are not the same.”

Rita states that there is “excellent work by the government” being done: “I am convinced that this work is being done, not in a hasty manner, but gradually. What interests us is that farmers have an income. Through milk and through meat. That is the basis on which we must rely.” Jorge Rita also points out that meat, at the moment, “is a product in sustainable growth in the Autonomous Region of the Azores” and warns that “it is good to remember that, in terms of exports and exposure, the country has a large deficit in beef.”

“Sheep may be more geared towards the regional market than for export, but the country only produces 47% of the beef it consumes,” explains the Federation President.

European Commission approves amendment to the specification for Azorean meat.

One of the announcements highlighted in the Regional Secretary for Agriculture’s speech concerned the European Commission’s approval of the Azores Agricultural Federation’s proposal to amend the specification for Azorean meat so that more meat is considered PGI (Protected Geographical Indication):

“I can tell you firsthand that the Azores Agricultural Federation recently submitted a list of demands for changes to the specifications for what constitutes Azores PGI meat. As you know, we have 10 EU qualifications, and one of the oldest is Azores PGI meat.”

Ventura states that there was a need to update this list by the entity responsible for Azorean meat, the Azores Agricultural Federation, and that, to this end, it was submitted to the European Commission and has now been approved by the European Union’s executive body as “these same changes.”

“This authorization from the European Commission is a victory for the Azores in relation to Azores meat, and the Agricultural Federation is to be congratulated for proposing this amendment, so that there would be greater coverage of Azorean beef,” Ventura emphasizes.

“At the moment, there is more Azorean meat with PGI quality, and new end products from this same processing are also being accepted,” he concludes.

“Misinformation campaigns on meat and milk consumption”

Both António Ventura and Jorge Rita devoted part of their speeches to misinformation about the consumption and production of meat and milk. “In the world we live in, we also experience misinformation campaigns. Misinformation campaigns about certain foods, such as meat and milk, in which a group of people deliberately say that these foods are bad for your health,” explains the Regional Secretary. Ventura points out that there is a “lack of knowledge” and that there are currently “strategies to stop people from consuming these foods”:

“Neither meat nor milk is bad for human health, and most Azoreans still continue to consume these foods. It is part of the survival and history of the Azores,“ he says, calling for ”combating misinformation campaigns“ and explaining that ”everything in excess is bad for you.“

”These foods are good for human health, especially foods produced in the Azores, which come from this combination of soil, sea breeze, and the Azoreans’ way of doing things. It is through events like this that beef and lamb are good for human health,“ he explains.

Jorge Rita shares the same view on excess and the preservation of the consumption of animal products: ”Any food in excess is not good, but worse than excess is not having food. Worse than excess is the absence of both meat and milk. The situation would be dramatic. This is a note to those who think that meat and milk are not foods for the 21st century. They will be foods forever.“

Valuing lamb: the ”poor relation of meat”

The sheep farming sector takes center stage at the Azores Meat Summit. In the opening session, Aníbal Moura, President of ARCOA, recalled that Santa Maria (one of the islands driving this sector) and the Region had “great potential” in the 1980s. Still, due to attacks by dogs, “flocks were decimated” and producers “gradually abandoned breeding.”

Moura notes that, fortunately, local authorities and some entities developed strategies that led to increased sheep farming across all the islands of the archipelago. Despite his optimism, the President of ARCOA points out that one of the problems facing the sector is the fact that sheep and goats are the “poor relation of meat.” However, he acknowledges with satisfaction that some positive steps have already been taken:

“We producers work and fight. Without producers, there is no material. Producers have to work and know that they will make a profit, because otherwise it becomes difficult.” António Ventura states that, in the last ten years, “the number of sheep has increased,” not only in Santa Maria, but also throughout the archipelago, creating “a new food chain that comes from consumption,” as well as the “dynamism of producers who are dedicated to sheep farming.”

“It is a dish that has become part of our eating habits. This event also aims to promote sheep meat outside Santa Maria. We need new markets, and there is no better place than our Azorean market, on the island of São Miguel, to promote sheep meat,” says the head of the Department of Agriculture. In this regard, a panel discussion entitled “Promoting Santa Maria Lamb Meat and its Potential” was held yesterday, and lamb will also be served at the festival’s closing dinner.

In addition to the panels mentioned above, yesterday there was a session dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the “Ramo Grande” cattle breed, a native breed of the Azores, as well as a presentation of work carried out in the Azorean meat sector through the Regional Strategy Center for Azorean Meat.

Today, meat-cutting workshops will be held at the Azores Tourism Training School and at the Anfiteatro restaurant. Tomorrow, on the last day, the closing dinner of the Azores Meat Summit will take place, featuring chefs Eddy Melo, Vítor Sobral, Paulo Freitas, and Rui Medeiros.

José Henrique Andrade is a journalist for Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros, director.

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.