Protesty zemědělců: Omezit je třeba trhy, ne ochranu přírody

The author contends that the European Commission's response to farmer protests—scaling back environmental regulations—misidentifies the problem. The core issue is a neoliberal system that favors large agro-corporations and free-trade agreements, leaving small farmers with low incomes and high debts. The text proposes a 'just' Green Deal that includes ecological tariffs, a reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to reward sustainable land stewardship rather than land size, and a shift toward agroecology to align the interests of farmers with nature conservation.

• The European Commission has responded to farmer protests by removing or weakening environmental protections, including plans to limit pesticide use, the strategy for sustainable food production, and nature protection criteria for subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy.
• The primary cause of farmer distress is not environmental regulation, but neoliberal market policies, including free-trade agreements that lower crop prices, the influx of cheap imports (such as Ukrainian grain), and the dominance of retail and food giants.
• Farmers in the European Union suffer from systemic economic exploitation, with incomes consistently 40% lower than the general population.
• Environmental protection and farmers' interests are fundamentally aligned, as farmers are the primary victims of industrial pollution (pesticide exposure) and climate change; for example, 2022 weather extremes caused Italian farmers 6 billion euros in losses, destroying about 10% of production.
• The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is currently skewed toward large industrial enterprises, with 80% of subsidies going to only 20% of farmers.
• To achieve a just transition, the EU should implement ecological tariffs to protect domestic producers from countries with lower standards, reconsider or abandon the Mercosur agreement, and ensure fair purchase prices, citing Spain's ban on buying below production costs as a model.
• Agroecological farms generally show better medium-term economic results than those using conventional methods, as evidenced by studies in France.

APA

Frison, A. H. E. (2024). Protesty zemědělců: Omezit je třeba trhy, ne ochranu přírody. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/protesty-zemedelcu-omezit-je-potreba-trhy-ne-ochranu-prirody/

Chicago

Frison, Angela Hilmi, Emile. Protesty zemědělců: Omezit je třeba trhy, ne ochranu přírody. Green European Journal, 2024. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/protesty-zemedelcu-omezit-je-potreba-trhy-ne-ochranu-prirody/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Frison |first1=Angela Hilmi, Emile |title=Protesty zemědělců: Omezit je třeba trhy, ne ochranu přírody |publisher=Green European Journal |date=7 May 2024 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/protesty-zemedelcu-omezit-je-potreba-trhy-ne-ochranu-prirody/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{frison2024protesty, author = {Frison, Angela Hilmi, Emile}, title = {{Protesty zemědělců: Omezit je třeba trhy, ne ochranu přírody}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/protesty-zemedelcu-omezit-je-potreba-trhy-ne-ochranu-prirody/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }