The progressive stranglehold of “climate change” policy in Europe has taken its toll on their farmers, and they have reached a critical breaking point. A breaking point that could be coming to America’s heartland in the very near future.
Europe has had a simmering level of discontent among its farming community over the last few years, with tensions in some countries starting to boil over as farmers intensify protests throughout the continent. Major highways have been blocked by tractors, bales of hay lit on fire, and access to airports and sea ports restricted by the protesters.
The increase in irritation from European farmers comes as the European Union Summit is set to commence. Farmers from Belgium to Italy and France to Spain are hopeful their voices will be considered as European leaders meet to plot new “climate change” regulations.
Enough is enough
European farmers are making waves across the continent as they flex their agricultural muscles to catch the attention of their elected leaders. French farmers recently blocked highways in and out of Paris with tractors and set hay bales on fire to block access to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport.
Belgian farmers blocked roads to the Zeebrugge container port. Farmers marched in the streets of Milan and Rome in Italy.
Last year, German and Polish farmers protested, and Spanish farmers have pledged to add their voices to the mix starting in February. Sporting protest signs with slogans such as: “Minister for awhile, Farmer for Life” these farmers are at their limit with the European Union bureaucrats.
Why all the anger from seemingly mild-mannered European farmers? They argue that the EU’s oppressive regulations primarily aimed at climate change initiatives have made it almost impossible to thrive as a farmer in Europe and stay in business at all.
One such regulation is the requirement to devote 4% of their farmland to “non-productive” areas so “nature can recover” to receive subsidies from the EU. The requirement to leave land fallow to receive subsidies has put many farmers out of business, with rumors of some feeling so desperate they’ve resorted to suicide.
Where would such a nonsensical restriction come from?
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Another dangerous meeting
Last year, the 28th Conference of the Parties, otherwise known as the COP28, met in Dubai. It is an annual event where world leaders meet to discuss policy changes that could be made to avert climate disasters. The meetings are often minimally covered by mainstream media.
Unfortunately, these extravagant get-togethers of the world elite tend to be where some of the worst ideas are born and then subsequently dropped into government policies affecting the unsuspecting masses. Last year’s event, in particular, showcased what they dubbed as “1.5 Celcius-aligned menus” focused on plant-based foods to show the importance of “climate-friendly food and farming.”
The COP28 Food Systems Lead Mariam Almheiri said of the menus:
“To achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, to keep 1.5C within reach, we must address the connection between global food systems, agriculture, and the climate.”
Don’t be fooled by the eloquence of the line; when Mr. Almheiri mentions global food systems, he’s talking about farms and ranches. The United States naturally was in attendance last year and was one of over 150 countries that agreed to implement policies to align with the climate goals of the COP28, including:
“…simultaneously reduce the harmful environmental impacts of agriculture and to maximize the sector’s climate benefits.”
Europe attempts to “reduce the harmful” impacts of farming by tying subsidies to required fallow farmland. The question is, how is the United States pushing forward?
It’s already here
Late last year, 12 state agriculture commissioners wrote a letter to six U.S. banks raising concerns about financial decisions the banks were making tied to climate change initiatives that negatively impact American farmers and ranchers. The six banks in question are a part of the United Nations-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance or NZBA.
The NZBA is “committed to financing ambitious climate action” with the intent that banks make financial decisions based on climate initiatives.
The six U.S. banks are:
- Bank of America
- Citigroup
- Goldman Sachs
- JPMorgan Chase
- Morgan Stanley
- Wells Fargo
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In the letter, the commissioners write:
“Achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture requires a complete overhaul of on-farm infrastructure – one of the goals of the NZBA.”
They go on to illustrate the damage the NZBA will inflict on American agriculture:
“Proposed net-zero roadmaps describe dramatic, impractical, and costly changes to American farming and ranching operations such as switching to electric machinery and equipment; installing on-site solar panels and wind turbines; moving to organic fertilizer; altering rice-field irrigation systems; and slashing U.S. ruminant meat consumption in half, costing millions in livestock jobs.”
That last bit should sound familiar. It sounds a lot like pushing plant-based foods like COP28 or, dare I say it…eating bugs instead of beef…
Boring but important
If it’s not the banks that will bring American farmers to the streets in protest, it might be Congress. This year, Congress has to pass an updated Farm bill.
The Farm Bill encompasses all manner of non-sexy policy items related to SNAP benefits and farm subsidies. These farm subsidies, similar to those in Europe, are increasingly tied to climate initiatives.
Just as in Europe, the stranglehold on America’s heartland isn’t happening overnight, but in small, tiny moves throughout many years thanks to the persistent push of climate activists and international pressure from progressive European leaders. While the mainstream media brushes aside claims that European aristocrats and climate activists want to make us eat bug burgers and that techno-elites like Bill Gates gobbling up the largest amount of privately owned farmland in the country isn’t something to be concerned about, banks and congressmen are slowly encroaching on American ranchers and farmers to perpetuate their dangerous climate ideology.
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Last October, the Department of Agriculture’s Household Food Security report revealed that one in eight households in America had experienced food insecurity in the previous calendar year. With that, I’ll leave you with this final question – what is the end goal of starving out Europeans and Americans by slowly killing off farming and ranching?
Is it really about climate change, or is it about something else entirely?
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