A new proposal by the globalists in charge of the European Union (EU) would require that all farms be treated like industrial plants, similar to steel mills or chemical works, so they can be forcibly regulated to align with the bloc’s 2030 “green” goals.
If a farm can be reclassified as an industrial plant, then the globalists in charge can force it to cut so-called “greenhouse gas” emissions, thus saving the planet from global warming and climate change, we are told.
Many farmers, as you might expect, are up in arms about the plan. One of them is Greek farmer Takis Kazanas, 66, who runs a 230-acre ranch with 300 cattle in the mountains overlooking the Thessalian Plain with his four sons. Kazanas already runs his farm in a clean and sustainable way, but it is not enough to meet the EU’s demands.
Right now, Kazanas captures “biogas” from the cow dung his animals produce. He also uses homegrown manure rather than chemical fertilizer – and yet still the EU wants to shut him down by reclassifying his farm as an industrial operation so it can meet its 55 percent emissions reductions targets by the year 2030.
“That’s what the EU says, and that’s what I do,” Kazanas told the media about the “earth-friendly” measures he is already deploying at his ranch. “Today, everyone blames cattle for methane production and pollution … I have a different opinion.”
(Related: With the way things are headed, there is almost certainly going to be a food crisis in the near future.)
European Commission’s “Farm to Fork” strategy deployed right after Russia invaded Ukraine, exacerbating the energy and food crisis
Even in less urgent times than where we currently find ourselves in 2023, the demands of the European Commission with its so-called “Farm to Fork” strategy are lofty and next to impossible to achieve.
Announced immediately following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Farm to Fork strategy involves halving the amounts of pesticides applied to farms by 2030; drastically cutting the use of fertilizers; doubling organic production; and rewilding some farmland.
These are all laudable goals, just to be clear – just so long as they are actually viable and do not cut into the existing food chain while disenfranchising farmers and putting them out of business. Unfortunately for the farming community, the rules do just that: they make it just about impossible to continue growing food for the world.
Brussels, where the EU is headed, claims that the nitrous oxides found in fertilizer, as well as in animal urine and manure, is largely responsible for the alleged emissions “problem” that it is aiming to address.
The other problem is actually competing in a global marketplace under these egregious rules. Organic production can thrive on local trade, but margins are so thin globally that many farmers have no choice but to grow food the conventional way just to stay in business.
Even very small increases in feed prices “can wipe out annual profits” for a farmer, reported the Financial Times, as relayed by Zero Hedge.
The overall 2030 goals of the EU program include:
• Cutting the use of chemical and hazardous pesticides by 50 percent
• Reducing the use of fertilizer by 20 percent
• Increasing the amount of land devoted to organic farming to 20 percent, up from just 9.1 percent in 2020
• Forcing larger livestock farms to comply with the same clean air and water regulations as heavy industry.
Fortunately for some farmers, banding together and taking on the government has proved successful. In The Netherlands, for instance, a massive farmer backlash caused politicians to back off on their 2030 goals for agriculture, at least for the time being.
By Ethan Huff