https://nordictimes.com/europe/german-farmers-revolt-continues/

Europe

German farmers’ revolt continues

The war on food supply

Published 10 January 2024

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: facsimile/ Sky News Australia/Youtube

Tractors are blocking roads in Berlin and elsewhere.

Thousands of tractors have taken to the streets of Germany to protest the government’s plans to end tax breaks for diesel fuel. The massive demonstration is expected to continue throughout the week.

In December, the German government reached a deal to address the country’s budget crisis, which included the removal of tax breaks on diesel for farmers. This measure, seen as part of a wider budget reform, quickly caused concern, especially in rural areas. In the week following the decision, more than 1,700 tractors gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin to protest the decision, which farmers said would increase their costs by around €1 billion a year in an already strained sector.

On Monday, farmers in Germany protested again, but this time in larger parts of the country. Tractors blocked major and minor roads in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Bremen, according to The Guardian. More than 2,000 tractors were registered in each of the city center demonstrations, which are expected to continue throughout the week.

– We are exercising our fundamental right to inform society and the political class that Germany needs a competitive agricultural sector, said the head of the German Farmers’ Association, Joachim Rukwied. This is the only way to ensure the availability of high-quality, domestically produced food.

Last week, the government partially backtracked on the scrapped tax breaks, saying that the tax exemption for cars would be maintained and that the cuts to diesel tax breaks would be spread over three years. Farmers, however, argue that this is not enough and that they will still suffer severe losses. For its part, the government points out that it cannot “please everyone”.

– At the end of the day, a government has to decide and take the lead, and it can’t always be to everyone’s satisfaction, said a government spokesman.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/denmark/danish-farmers-protest-against-climate-taxes-and-bovaer/

Denmark

Danish farmers protest against climate taxes and bovaer

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published today 7:47

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: facsimile/DR

– I won't be feeding my cows with bovaer, that's for sure, says farmer Thorbjørn Thomsen

On Monday, Danish farmers protested against new climate taxes and rules that they say make farming in the country more difficult and worse. Among other things, the protests were directed against the criticized feed additive bovaer, which farmers are now forced to use to reduce methane emissions.

Last year, the Danish government agreed on a new climate agreement with the aim of making Denmark “green”. One of the targets is to reduce nitrogen emissions from agriculture by 13,780 tons per year, to be achieved through a carbon tax on farmers.

The No FFF demonstration, which stands for “No Food, No Farmers, No Future”, was organized in several Danish cities on Monday. Farmers drove their tractors to Aalborg, Kolding, Holstebro and Aarhus, among others.

The farmers are demanding the removal of all taxes and regulations that make it difficult to farm and raise animals in Denmark. They also want car and registration fees to be abolished, the green tripartite agreement to be stopped and no more solar parks to be built on agricultural land.

Demand for methane-reducing supplements

A significant part of the protests is directed against the much-criticized feed additive bovaer. Since January 1, all dairy farms in Denmark with more than 50 cows must use methane-reducing supplements in their feed.

– I won’t be feeding my cows with bovaer, that’s for sure, farmer Thorbjørn Thomsen told Danish state broadcaster DR.

Arla has recently faced strong criticism after boasting that it feeds British dairy cows the dietary supplement bovaer. Many Britons have called for a boycott of the company’s products and openly declared that they will not support a company that gives its animals what they consider to be experimental and unnatural supplements. In Sweden, too, criticism has been noticeable, and initiatives such as Mejerikollen have been launched to help consumers avoid dairy products containing bovaer.

Not wanting to restrict traffic

In several European countries, demonstrations against taxes and regulations on agriculture have taken place under the slogan No Farmers, No Food. However, the Danish demonstration is not supported by the major official agricultural organizations.

– We don’t want to be part of taking ordinary Danes hostage on this issue. There are some things we are not happy with, but we are not in favor of restricting traffic for that reason, says Torben Farum, vice president of the agricultural organization Agilix in Northern Jutland.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/europe/polish-farmers-block-the-road-to-germany/

Europe

Polish farmers block the road to Germany

The war on food supply

Published 28 February 2024

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: facsimile/Euronews

Farmers in Poland have full stocks but cannot sell their produce.

On Sunday, farmers from Poland blocked a major highway bordering Germany in protest against, among other things, the “uncontrolled” import of Ukrainian grain, which they say creates unfair competition.

On Sunday, Polish farmers started a tractor blockade on the highway bordering Germany. The farmers continue to protest the EU’s “Green Deal” regulation, which they say will make products more expensive and create unfair competition from non-EU countries.

– We farmers from Poland are here because we are no longer accepting the EU Green Deal regulation, farmer Christopher Janicki told AFP. We also do not accept the uncontrolled import of grain from outside of the EU.

The main problem for Polish farmers is the import of cheap grain from Ukraine, where exports have been suspended due to the ongoing war.

– Farmers in Poland have their warehouses full and cannot get rid of their goods, he says.

For several weeks, farmers across Europe have been blocking roads with tractors in protest at strict EU environmental rules and competition from cheap imports from other countries. The protests, which began in Germany, have spread to France, Belgium, Denmark and the Czech Republic.

On Monday, they continued to block both lanes of the highway, but reportedly ended during the day. A 25-day blockade was originally planned, but was shortened after talks with local representatives and companies.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/denmark/climate-council-calls-for-meat-tax-in-denmark/

Denmark

Climate council calls for meat tax in Denmark

The war on food supply

Published 26 February 2024

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: iStock/VLG

Danish politicians want their citizens to eat less red meat.

Denmark’s climate council proposes a carbon tax on meat products for consumers, but the idea is rejected by a committee of experts who question whether it would have any effect on emissions in Denmark. The expert committee argues that farmers should be taxed instead.

The government’s climate advisor believes that politicians in the country should introduce a consumption tax on meat in supermarkets so that consumers have to pay more for beef and other products that emit carbon dioxide.

– There are good reasons to levy a tax on what is in the fridge and especially on the big climate villains in the fridge – such as red meat, Peter Møllgaard, chairman of the Danish Climate Council, told Danish state broadcaster DR.

The tax would be imposed on all beef, regardless of which country it comes from.

On Wednesday, a committee of experts led by Michael Svarer, professor of economics at Aarhus University, presented its own proposals on how to achieve the climate targets in Denmark. They scrapped the proposal for a consumption tax and pointed out that it would not be “particularly economically appropriate” to introduce a CO₂ tax on the products in the fridge.

– It is difficult to implement because it is hard to know the exact climate impact of a Dr. Oetker pizza from Bavaria, he said.

“Controlling consumer demand”

– If you don’t know, you have to use average figures, and then the producer has no incentive to change their behavior because they still have to pay the average tax rate. Then you don’t achieve the behavioral effect that you want for the tax. This is why we have chosen to avoid a consumption tax, Svarer continues.

Instead, it is proposed that a carbon tax could be introduced for agriculture. The tax would make it more expensive for farmers to produce, for example, milk and meat, which also means that it would make the products more expensive for the customer. However, according to calculations, such a tax would, for example, make 500 grams of beef an average of DKK 4.5 more expensive. However, the Climate Council considers this to be too little.

– The idea is that it should be more expensive if you demand goods that have a high climate impact. The idea is that we need to steer consumer demand away from things that cause a lot of pollution, says Møllgaard.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/europe/czech-farmers-join-protests/

Europe

Czech farmers join protests

The war on food supply

Published 20 February 2024

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: facsimile/AP/Youtube

The situation of the farmers is described as "desperate".

Hundreds of tractors rolled into Prague on Monday as farmers protested against the EU’s “green” policies and the complicated and time-consuming bureaucracy surrounding agriculture.

Farmers in several EU countries have protested against the abolition of tax breaks on diesel, increased fuel costs and general EU environmental legislation by blocking major roads with tractors in Germany, France and Slovakia. Danish farmers also plan to join the protests.

Hundreds of tractors entered the Czech capital on Monday, blocking a main road in the city. The tractors did not completely block the road, but traffic was still able to pass. Several hundred people then gathered in front of the Ministry of Agriculture, shouting “shame” and “resignation” at those who work there.

– We came today mainly because of the bureaucracy around farming, the paperwork is on the edge of what is bearable, farmer Lukas Melichovsky told Reuters.

“Hopeless situation”

However, the country’s main agricultural organizations are distancing themselves from Monday’s protests, as some of the participants have previously taken part in pro-Russian demonstrations. On Thursday, however, the Agrarian Chamber (AK) plans to protest against EU environmental policies.

– Farmers are desperate in this hopeless situation and do not know what they should expect in the near future, let alone the distant one, AK President Jan Dolezal said last week.

On Thursday, farmers from Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Croatia will also protest.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Polaris of Enlightenment

Polaris of Enlightenment