Jan Huitema

Jan Huitema (born 5 July 1984) is a Dutch politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2014 to 2024. He is a member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), part of Renew Europe in the European Parliament, until 2019 the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

Early life and education Huitema was born as the son of a farmer in Heerenveen. He went to high school in Sneek. Huitema obtained a bachelor's degree in Animal Sciences at Wageningen University and followed this up with a master's degree in Animal Production Systems at the same university in 2008.

Career Huitema started working as a policy employee for Dutch member of the European Parliament (MEP) Jan Mulder in 2008 and worked for him until 2009. He was placed sixth on the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy's list of candidates for the 2014 European Parliament elections. Huitema stated that while working for MEPs he saw numerous reports, opinions and proposals which looked great in theory but were in practice infeasible, specifically targeting new parts of the Common Agricultural Policy. After his election he stated it was his intention to return to the family farm every weekend to see what is going on in the Netherlands as not to lose touch with the country. He was the first Dutch MEP in five years on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development; as well as on emission performance standards for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (2021). During his first term Huitema worked on a change in the definition of animal manure and prevention of the patenting of plant-properties. In 2019, Huitema joined the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.

In addition to his committee assignments, Huitema serves as a member of the Parliament's delegation for relations with the United States. He is also part of the European Parliament Intergroup on Biodiversity, Countryside, Hunting and Recreational Fisheries the European Parliament Intergroup on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, and the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights.

Huitema was re-elected in the European Parliament elections of 2019. He was not on the ballot in June 2024, and his membership of the body ended on 15 July 2024.

Political positions In an interview with a Nederlandse Omroep Stichting reporter Huitema stated he would not only represent the interest of farmers, but will also focus on entrepreneurship and regional interests.

Huitema has argued for the immediate closure of battery cages in the European Union. These have been illegal in the European Union since 2012, but some still exist. Huitema argued that these are damaging the Dutch poultry industry as Dutch farms already have invested in more animal friendly cages.