Friday, 15 April 2016

Liberalizing farming. By Pierre CAILLET

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“Poorly organized, not big enough, not productive enough…” Do French farmers have it all wrong?

Clearly, the current situation is purely their own fault, and farmers surely deserve what they have got. Considering that they are the category that is most affected by suicide, and their prospects are virtually nonexistent, they could do what their predecessors did: choose another job (the number of cattle breeders has decreased by 40% over the past decade)! But no, some still try to live off their land, and exploit their animals, even if by doing so they have to sell at a loss. But this, it would seem, is not about to stop…

But that was before the European authorities’ intervention which found THE solution. Does the TTIP ring a bell? It’s the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a proposed trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, the aim of which is promoting trade and multilateral economic growth. This treaty is a death sentence for our cattle breeders. It means the arrival of American beef, which is fed genetically modified crops and injected with hormones, at a very attractive price for the consumer in French supermarkets. Thanks a lot, you Brussels technocrats!

Do you not rejoice to see Europe condemn its own farmers? After all, it is not the first measure taken by the UE to destroy agriculture: we can point to the liberalization of the milk and meat markets (nowadays farmers are dependent on multinational companies) or even the establishment of production quotas which strengthen the power of these big corporations over the farmers.

Because of the will to liberalize “rationally”, the State has put itself in a complicated situation in which its ability to act has become limited. The best example is the swine crisis of last January; the State was incapable of solving the problem. Farmers are in a tricky situation, stuck between authorities with limited power, bureaucratized unions (FNSEA), and an EU which only makes things worse…

Sources:

http://www.atlantico.fr/decryptage/crise-agricole-en-marre-que-chacun-prenne-responsabilites-etat-europe-mais-aussi-agriculteurs-francais-jean-marc-sylvestre-2590311.html
http://www.web-agri.fr/observatoire_marches/lait.html
http://reporterre.net/Voici-comment-la-grande-distribution-ecrase-l-agriculture-en-Francehttp://www.francetvinfo.fr/economie/emploi/metiers/agriculture/crise-des-eleveurs/crise-des-eleveurs-trois-graphiques-pour-connaitre-la-composition-du-prix-quand-on-achete-un-kilo-de-viande_1007023.htmlhttps://resistanceinventerre.wordpress.com/2015/09/03/xavier-beulin-patron-de-la-fnsea-et-nabab-de-lagrobusiness-tentaculaire/
http://www.eleveur-laitier.fr/archive/

Pierre CAILLET wants to be a farmer.

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