Farmers and activists from all over the continent converged on European Union headquarters in Brusssels to push for a food policy that is fairer to family farmers and kinder to the environment and developing nations.
Meanwhile, the deny what has gotten them all to this point; science.
At the European Parliament in Brussels, a reform of the costly pan-EU farm system is being discussed. And everyone has their hand in the pie, people selling stuff in the Slow Food movement to the Friends of the Earth environmental group.
"EU farm policy must be fundamentally changed" regarding a new seven-year program that kicks in after 2013, they say. They want to end 'industrial farming', they say. Basically, they want to declare war on poor people and only care about the 1% who can afford to eat when modern agriculture no longer exists.
They specifically think that GMOs and chemicals are a bad idea.
The European Commission has made proposals to promote employment and growth in rural areas to make sure the bloc's 16.7 million farmers can continue to keep a leading place in world farming - but that leading place is only because Europe alone accounts for 85% of agriculture subsidies for the entire world. Protesters want it geared more away from industrial farming and subsidies that help undercut global prices, which would make sense if the playing field were fair for developing nations, but remain skeptical that European farmers intend to take a pay cut.
The EU farm budget proposals alone are euro 390 billion.
Protesters call for greener, fairer EU farm policy By Raf Casert, Associated Press
