No farmers = no food = a broken society

Since 8 January, farmers in Germany have been protesting on mass scale against the government’s recent decision to eliminate tax breaks on diesel-powered agricultural equipment (see story on page 19). This protest is taking place nationwide, with tens of thousands of farmers and other citizens blocking highways and other roads. According to Eva Vlaardingerbroek, a Dutch journalist who extensively covered the Dutch farmer protests last year, these latest protests in Europe are a result of new so-called climate change-mitigation strategies and restrictions that specifically seem to target farmers. Vlaardingerbroek told American anchor Tucker Carlson that German farmers felt they were being “harassed off their land” by the German government, and were being ruled by “people who hate them”.

The elimination of the diesel rebate could mean that many farmers in Germany who were already struggling against rising input costs and shrinking profit margins could go out of business. And a lesson that European politicians, as well as other politicians around the world, need to learn (and need to learn quickly for all our sakes) is that without farmers, there is no food, and without food, society falls apart.

Speaking to Vlaardingerbroek, an unnamed German farmer said that farmers were “sick of being ruled by politicians who are not educated

[on farming]”, and that the protest had been four years in the making. “Politicians don’t listen. We now have no choice but to demonstrate.”

It is worth noting that the protests have been mostly peaceful. German farmers are not alone in this, and similar protests are reportedly being planned in Poland, Romania, France and the Netherlands.

In response to the protests, the German government has agreed to scale back action on the diesel tax breaks, saying that instead of being implemented all at once, the tax breaks will be eliminated over a period of three years (40% to be eliminated in 2023; 30% in 2024; and the final 30% in 2025).

However, the German farmers have refused this offer, and vow to continue protesting until the government scraps the policy.

These kinds of protests are something that can be expected across the world should governments continue to try and use farmers as a scapegoat for climate change, and as a mirage for actually tackling climate change. Much like South Africa’s carbon tax, which seems to disappear into the black hole called ‘government revenue’, the policies and regulations implemented by these governments are nonsensical and ineffective. Ultimately, all they achieve is a rise in food prices, as supply eventually drops and demand increases.

We need our governments to clearly explain how and why farmers are being targeted by the climate change brigade, especially considering that farming is not a primary contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. Governments cannot continue to harass farmers and drive them out of business.

This is bad news for all of us, and the sooner we begin to face this reality, the better it will be for all of us.