Essays by Eric Worrall
Green policy-obsessed European leaders are ignoring the effects of Sri Lanka’s organic agri-food crisis.
Massive farmers protest disrupting Brussels traffic
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — Hundreds of tractors driven by angry farmers protesting against plans to cut nitrate concentrations gathered in Brussels on Friday, causing severe traffic disruption in the city. capital of Belgium.
According to Brussels police, the BB farmers’ association and several other organizations have coordinated efforts to collect more than 2,700 agricultural vehicles.
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The Flemish regional government is struggling to find an agreement to cut nitrate pollution in the face of protests from farmers that it will put many out of business.
Farmers also argue that their trade must be cut much deeper than industry and want to see a fairer distribution.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/eu-belgium-farmers-protests-tractors-77b9c462e45050a144b958c1055cfc26
Why do EU member state governments strictly control farming practices?
nitrate
Protect water from nitrate pollution from agricultural sources
overview
Nitrogen is an important nutrient that helps plants and crops grow, but high concentrations are harmful to humans and nature. Clean, pure water is important for human health and natural ecosystems. Excess nitrogen from agricultural sources is one of the main causes of water pollution in Europe.
Nitrates and organic nitrogen compounds from fertilizers and manure enter groundwater through filtration and reach surface water through runoff from agricultural fields. The high nitrate concentration makes the water unsuitable for drinking.
In rivers, lakes and sea water, nitrogen and other nutrients, especially phosphorus, stimulate algae growth. In moderation, algae serve as food for aquatic organisms, including fish. However, too high a nutrient concentration in the water system will cause algae to overgrow. This affects natural ecosystems and can lead to depletion of oxygen in the water. This phenomenon, known as eutrophication, has negative consequences for biodiversity, fisheries and recreational activities.
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Read more: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/water/nitrates_en
The EU also has another reason to try to reduce fertilizer use. Nitrous oxide emissions from farms are a potent greenhouse gas.
Special Report: General Agricultural Policy and Climate
Half of EU climate spending but no reduction in farm emissions
European Court of Auditors
Since 2013, climate action has been one of the main goals of the Common Agricultural Policy – the cap. The Commission has allocated more than €100 billion – more than a quarter of the total CAP budget – to climate change mitigation and adaptation for the period 2014-2020.
II The EU’s role in mitigating climate change in the agricultural sector is crucial as the EU sets environmental standards and co-finances most of the agricultural spending of the Member States. We decided to audit the CAP because a large portion of its budget is devoted to climate change mitigation and adaptation and because of the close link between climate and agricultural policy. We hope our findings will be useful in the context of the EU’s goal of being climate neutral by 2050.
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Livestock emissions, mainly caused by livestock, account for about half of emissions from agriculture and have been stable since 2010. However, CAP does not seek to limit the number of pets; nor does it provide incentives to reduce them. CAP market measures include advertising of animal products, the consumption of which has not decreased since 2014.
BECAUSE Emissions from chemical fertilizers and manure, which account for nearly a third of agricultural emissions, increased between 2010 and 2018. CAP supports practices that can reduce fertilizer use, such as organic farming and grain legumes. However, we found that these practices had an ambiguous impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, more effective methods receive less funding.
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Read more: https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/SR21_16/SR_CAP-and-Climate_EN.pdf
EU bureaucracies claim they are not in favor of reducing livestock numbers, but I don’t believe them. The reduction in livestock numbers will be an inevitable consequence of pursuing the stated goal of reducing fertilizer use. Intensive farming, including livestock farming, requires a lot of fertilizer.
The Netherlands announces a 25 billion euro plan to radically reduce the number of livestock
Tom Levitt Thursday, December 16, 2021 01.00 AEDT
The program to solve the pollution crisis caused by overcrowding of manure has faced fierce opposition from farmers
The Dutch government has announced a €25 billion (£21 billion) plan to radically reduce the number of domestic animals as it struggles to contain so much animal manure.
an agreement to acquired farmers to try to reduce nitrogen pollution levels domestic has been discuss for a whileand finally confirmed after agreement to form a new coalition government in the Netherlands earlier this week.
But the plan, the first of its kind in the world, faced a backlash from the farmer who have staged There have been major street protests in recent years over the possibility of strict regulation and buyout of farmers. They fear permanent damage to domestic food production if too many farmers are forced to quit.
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Will fertilizer runoff affect the Netherlands and other wild ecosystems in Europe? Absolute – I do not deny that intensive farming causes algal blooms and significant impacts on wildlife ecosystems. But Europe has other problems, issues that should be considered a higher priority.
European food inflation is already at 16-18%because of soaring energy and fertilizer prices, and possibly also because European farmers have had to spend time participating in protests against European efforts to destroy their businesses, rather than take care of their farm and farming.
Inflation in Europe is falling but food prices are rising. Who is paying the most and for what?
Via Rita Palfi • Updated: January 26, 2023
Food prices continued to rise across Europe despite inflation falling for a second straight month in December, according to data shared Wednesday by Eurostat, the European statistics agency.
Food price inflation in the EU was 18.2% and 16.2% in the euro area in Decemberon average decreased slightly compared to November. But some basic food items such as sugar, cheese and eggs, oil and fat prices still increased.
The highest price increase was recorded in Hungary with almost 50%, Lithuania with the second highest with 33.5%, followed by Estonia with 30.8%.
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Declaring war on European farmers, at a time when food prices are rising out of control, because of climate goals and concerns about protecting wildlife, is a recipe for disaster. The determination of Europe’s lost leaders to stick to their wilderness and climate protection goals, whatever the consequences for the lives of ordinary Europeans, is undermining European food security.
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