War on Farmers

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Slow-moving convoys of tractors clogged up nearly 700 miles of major highways in the Netherlands on Tuesday, as farmers inched toward The Hague to protest what they claim is an attempt to blame them over nitrogen pollution.

About 10,000 farmers planned the protest to argue they are unfairly being blamed after a court ruling found that the Netherlands is violating European emission rules.

"Farmers and growers are sick of being painted as a 'problem' that needs a 'solution,'"

As the slow roll to The Hague continued, some farmers carried posters and signs that read: "No farmers, no food," according to the BBC.

The idea that farmers are behind the bump in nitrogen pollution has prompted at least one political party official to suggest the country reduce the number of live animals it produces to cut down on the emission.

"This is about our families, our future, the future of our children," sheep farmer Bart Kemp, one of the protest's organizers, said during an emotional speech. "It's about our way of life."

Source: Angry Dutch farmers clog up 700 miles of highway during protest over emission rules

This reminds me of the old saying Never Bite the Hand that Feeds You.

[sarcasm=mine]

Yes ... let's let the farmers flood our waterways with nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers, and let them contaminate our air and food with growth hormones and glyphosate pesticides, or else they'll starve us all to death.

[/sarcasm]

In America we have some of the cleanest water and air in the world. We enacted laws to protect our waters and air, many generations ago when I was growing up and those laws worked effectively.

If you disagree, then look at the world map at the bottom of the following article.
Chasing Perfection: Air Quality Improvements Have Slowed ... Because Our Air Is Clean

I agree. Industrial farming is one of the main reasons why the Baltic Sea is so polluted. The modern ways of farming is among the reasons for lower bee numbers (not by far the only reason though). And every time they send their live stock out in nature and predators eat of the silver platter they are offered they cry out for blood instead of being responsible for their own animals and either keep them behind tall fences or send shepherds or large sheepdogs with them. Farmers are also known to not treat their stock very humanely.
There are a lot to criticize farmers for and they need to shape up like everyone else.

I DO believe there could & should be much better farming practices but I do not think the farmers are entirely the blame. Some of this is the culture that encourages eating & using all the things that farmers bring us. People do NOT want to pay more than they have to for goods including things that farmers bring is like food & clothing. Farmers feel they have to do things like you mentioned Fnord in order to stay afloat in a competitive market.

In the US, we had the American Agriculture Movement. Among other things, they had a march on Washington.

A funny story about the march. At one point the DC police attempted to disperse the protesters with police mounted on horses. That didn't phase the farmers at all. Farmers understand things about horses that the more usual types of protesters don't. Before long, you had farmers surrounding the horses, petting their foreheads, scratching their necks or behind their ears, and some giving them sugar cubes if they had them. It didn't work out quite like the police expected.