Farmers on frontline as Dutch divided by nitrogen pollution crisis
Farmers on frontline as Dutch divided by nitrogen pollution crisis
Government’s buyout scheme is meeting fierce resistance from farmers in Netherlands
There is much to say about these events, one sentence that caught my eye was: "Why are we so strict in Belgium and in the Netherlands? Because we are already exceeding the critical loads.”
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how farmers will compete with foreign products without the same pollution requirements
That’s the big issue. Even if dutch farmers agree to implement costly measures to limit emissions and pollution, unless this is enforced EU wide, this will just drive them out of business and move the pollution problem somewhere else. And I do not really see this happening EU wide in any foreseeable future.
The problem with the nitrate pollution is, that everyone in the affected area is paying for it. They are paying for it, by requireing extra steps to clean the water before it is drinkable, by causing more cancer and other diseases straining the healthcare system and ultimately by destroying the soil so much that the agriculture will just fail at some point and then relying on 100% imports.
The farmera rallying against it are extremely selfish, and worse they are on a path of destroying themselves and taking the entire country with them.
No loss in market value can be relevant enough to permanently destroy your countries ability to grow food.
this will just drive them out of business and move the pollution problem somewhere else
why would this move the pollution problem somewhere else, and if that did happen, why do you think the European states in question would not address this influx of nitrogen pollution in their borders
the netherlands has too many farmers, its a business thats so ridiculously oversaturated with supply that theyve been entirely reliant on government subsidy for years, all entirely for the sake of profit considering 70% is sent over the border
frankly, most of these businesses shouldnt exist and the farmers revolt weve been experiencing is practically just factory owners throwing a hissy fit over their failing businesses finally getting bought out now that the blatantly disfunctional system theyve been leeching off has finally broken down
Because there obviously is a demand for the produce and the market will not contact, instead it will supply elsewhere, whether it is cheap and not regulated yet. Probably regulations will catch up, but this is incredibly slow process and first thing will have to get bad. I am in no way saying keep things the same, quiet the oposite, it is not enough and has to happen across the entire european farm industry.
We have an influx of plant-based aka vegan replacement products. While they still need to get cheaper (relative to animal products; also, hello EU subsidy system!), there is a chance that these products could replace a large portion of animal products while being healthier, environmentally more friendly and more efficient to produce.
All evidence points to the contrary regarding health. Animal products are much more nutrient dense, and contain vitamins and minerals that don't exist in plants and others that are much more bioavailable than their inferior plant versions, such as iron, protein and vitamin A.