Young European farmers point to large agriculture as “the real problem” of climate change.
“Farmers are not against environmentalistsin fact it is quite the opposite: we want really strict ecological standards in Europe,” Jean Matthieu Thévenot, a 30-year-old farmer from the French Basque Country, explains to ‘Euronews Green’.
“As farmers, we are the first affected by climate change due to weather conditions. We are also the first affected by Pesticides“farmers die of cancer because of this.”
As a climate representative for the European Coordinator Via Campesina (ECVC) – a confederation of unions representing small farmers – he works with governments and institutions to strengthen environmental policies and at the same time support producers.
He goes on to explain why he believes systemic change is necessary to achieve this vision.
Farmers against environmentalists: Manipulation of agribusiness?
At the beginning of the year, European farmers made headlines by take the streets of the cities on signal of protest. But his motivation was obscured, Jean says.
“There was a false opposition between urban environmentalists and rural farmers. “We believe that It’s manipulation: it’s big industry trying to get farmers and environmentalists to fight each other. when the real problem is the industry itself.
More than marching against ecological policies, small farmers demanded a fair income for their products, explains Jean. In most EU countries, the average income of farmers – including subsidies – is about half that of the rest of the citizens, according to the CVC.
But Jean says agri-food lobby groups wanted to convey a different message.
“They turned these demands into ‘No, what we need is less environmental regulationbecause that’s the reason why farmers can’t make a living,'” says Jean.
Although he agrees that it is impossible for European farmers to compete with international exporters who are not subject to the same high standards, says lowering standards to the same level is not the way to go.
“Actually, the solution is ban imports that do not follow our rules…and set minimum prices,” says Jean.
For supermarkets, climate change “is not even happening”
For now, European free trade agreements go against local farmers, whose production suffers from extreme weather conditions. In his niche selling vegetable seedlings, Jean sees the direct impact of climate change in the producers.
“We are now clear that climate change is no longer something that will happen in two years: it is something that is already here,” he says. The main problem is unpredictability.
In his region, an extremely wet and cold spring caused this year’s tomato planting season to extend into summer. But for supermarkets, everything remains the same.
“We are fighting against supermarkets and all the long chains because, first of all, we believe that they are responsible for the climate changebecause they emit a lot of CO2, and secondly, They don’t respect farmers at all and they don’t even care about the situation.
“For them, I think change isn’t even happening. Are there no tomatoes in France? They buy it in Moroccoat a really low price.”
Food is not a commodity
In her work with ECVC, Jean advocates for intervention pricing by governments. This would force supermarkets to buy imported products at the same price as local ones.
“We have always said that food is not a commodity. Food is the basis of life, so it should not be included in the World Trade Organization system or in any free trade agreement, because it is not a car, it is not a computer. It’s something we need to live,” says Jean.
ADVERTISINGIt would also benefit communities abroad.
“Let us never forget that the farmer’s main objective must be local: he must first produce food for its citizens, and then, if it still has [algo], you can export,” says Jean. “But right now we see the opposite. For example, in some African countries produce all cocoawhich competes with traditional subsistence agriculture”.
According to him, the current system creates competition between farmers around the world“and in the end the farmers lose, while the transnational companies win.”
Jean is working with several academics to propose a new international trade framework “organized in a way that is fair – based on solidarity and human values, and not in capitalism“.
Who will pay if food prices are regulated?
Of course, price regulation would have a cost. “For now, farmers are paying the price for the system: very low income, very harsh environmental conditions,” says Jean. But he insists that These costs should not simply be passed on to the consumer..
ADVERTISINGOn the contrary, Maximum profit margins should be imposed on large companieswhich are mainly responsible for mass production and the greenhouse gases that it entails.
However, consumers have a role to play in their purchasing decisions.
“Let’s continue importing tomatoes in winter If consumers (want them), but with a very high price so that people realize that it has an environmental and social cost,” says Jean. “Then, if they want to buy local products that do not have these impacts, the price will be lower.
“Right now the opposite is happening, so the cheapest product is the one that has the greatest impact…if we change,** consumers will be able to make the right choice.”
Although somewhat controversial, another approach is emerging in some small territories in France: the project Sécurité sociale de l’alimentation (social food security)) aims to make things fairer for both farmers and consumers by pricing products based on customers’ income.
ADVERTISING“So, If you make a lot of money, you pay morebut if you earn very little, you can get the vegetables almost for free,” explains Jean.
He says it is also a winning model for governments.
“We’ve done the math, and thanks to better agriculture and a better food system, in the end it would save money that is currently spent on environmental adaptation, climate change mitigation and public health“.
What is the solution to the crisis of European farmers?
In addition to campaigning for price regulation, ECVC speaks out against what it calls “tools of green wash to tick the boxes for the Paris agreement with zero guaranteed results.”
The ECVC welcomes some elements of the EU’s farm-to-fork strategy, which aims to create sustainable food systems. However, he maintains that it is at odds with trade and subsidy policies, and claims that his approach is not always credible.
ADVERTISINGThe group points in particular to the EU’s Carbon Certification Framework (CRCF), which it calls “scientifically invalid” and “dangerous for food systems.”
The regulation encourages “carbon farming”, offering subsidies and aid for agricultural practices that promote carbon sequestration in forests and soils, a temporary solution that sometimes relies on expensive technology not tested at scale.
It also helps farms sell carbon offsets to companies, a counterproductive solution which creates “false confidence”, “delays real action” on emissions and “mostly benefits polluters”, warns campaign group Real Zero Europe.
ECVC warns that the plan encourages land grabbing by external agents, worsening what is currently the biggest problem for young European farmers, according to Jean: access to affordable land.
The Commission’s resources would be better focused on “real, fair and immediate reductions”, says Europa Cero Real, as a just transition to renewable energy and sustainable agricultural practices.
ADVERTISINGThis could include the support for organic farmingcrop rotation and farm autonomy, which would reduce CO2-intensive imports of products such as feed, suggests ECVC.
“If you are a conventional farmer, every subsidy, every government regulation will push you to grow more, to use more pesticides, to sell more, to export, etc. So they push us in that direction,” says Jean, whose exploitation of one hectare is too small to benefit from most subsidies.
Instead of favoring energy-intensive industrial agriculture, the politics should protect small farmers, whose farms maintain the dynamism of rural areas, prevent the loss of biodiversity and they don’t require huge amounts of fossil fuels or dangerous pesticides to function.
