To meet climate targets, some European countries are asking farmers to cut herd, relocate or go into lockdown — and a furious backlash has begun to reshape the political landscape ahead of autumn’s national elections.
This summer, dozens of farmers flocked to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, to protest new European Union rules aimed at restoring natural areas and reducing emissions that contribute to climate change. Farmers in Belgium, Italy and Spain have also protested.
The discontent has highlighted a growing divide on a continent that is on the one hand committed to acting on climate change, but on the other is often deeply divided over how to do it and who should pay for it.
People like Helma Breunissen, who runs a dairy farm in the Netherlands with her husband, say too much of the burden falls on them, threatening both their livelihoods and their way of life.
For almost 20 years, Breunissen has provided the Dutch with a staple product, cow’s milk, and felt that their labor was valued by society, he said.. The Dutch dairy industry, which also produces cheeses like Gouda and Edam, is celebrated as a cornerstone of national pride.
But the sector also produces almost half of the Netherlands’ nitrogen emissions, which in excess is detrimental to biodiversity. Breunissen and thousands of other farmers are upset that they are now labeled top emitters.
“I was confused, sad and angry,” said Breunissen, who manages a 100-cow farm.. “We are doing our best. We try to follow the rules. And all of a sudden, it’s like you’re a criminal.”
For many farmers, the feelings run deep. The prominent role of agriculture was enshrined in the founding documents of the European Union as a way to ensure food security for a continent still traumatized by the deprivations of World War II.
But scientists are adamant: To meet the bloc’s goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 and reversing biodiversity losses, Europe has to transform the way it produces its food.
In the Netherlands, the government has asked thousands of farmers to reduce their activities, relocate or go out of business. Authorities set aside some 24 billion euros, about $26 billion, to help farmers implement more sustainable solutions — or buy them out.
For Breunissen, who is 48 and works as a veterinarian in addition to her farm duties, none of the options proposed by the government seem feasible. She is too young to give up and too old to uproot her life, she said, and authorities have not given her enough support or information on how to change what she does now.
“There are so many questions,” he said. “Trust in the government has completely disappeared.”
Farmers’ disappointment with establishment parties is fueling new political movements — and, in some places, has turned rural communities into a new constituency ripe for far-right nationalist parties.
Although only 9 million of the almost 400 million voters in Europe work in agriculture, they are a vocal and influential bloc that attracts the sympathy of many in a continent where a nation’s identity is often tied to the food it produces.
A host of new groups are competing to displace the traditional parties. They include the Peasant Citizen Movement, known by its Dutch acronym BBB, which was established four years ago. The party has only one seat in the 150-member Dutch House of Representatives, but swept regional elections in March.
Many farmers say they are not reluctant to address climate change, noting that their livelihoods are most directly affected for that reason that those of many others. But they say the burden should be distributed more evenly.
Sitting at the kitchen table on her farm, surrounded by paintings of cows, Breunissen said she felt all the attention was focused on urban areas rather than rural areas and that there was no room for “this kind of life”.
“If we want to change something, all together we must decide to consume less”, he affirmed. “It’s not just about the farmers.”
By: MONIKA PRONCZUK and CLAIRE MOSES
BBC-NEWS-SRC: http://www.nytsyn.com/subscribed/stories/6871748, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-08-30 21:20:11
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