17th November 17, 2023 - "Italian MPs have voted to back a law banning the production, sale or import of cultivated meat or animal feed, in what the right-wing government calls a defence of Italian tradition. 'Italy is the world's first country safe from the social and economic risks of synthetic food,' said Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida.
"The vote in parliament was met by rallies for and against the ban. At one point, a scuffle broke out between farmers and some MPs. The head of the big Coldiretti farmers' organisation, Ettore Prandini, at one point confronted two MPs from the opposition More Europe party, calling them 'criminals' for opposing the ban.... One of the MPs, Benedetto Della Vedova, accused him of being a hooligan. Centrist colleagues called on the farmers' lobby to apologise....
"Despite the flare-up, parliament backed the bill by 159 votes to 53. Breaching the law would mean a fine of up to €60,000 (£52,000).
"For now, the law will have little effect.... The EU [European Union] has not yet given any lab-grown meat, described as 'novel foods', the green light. If it does, however, Italy's new law could be challenged by the European Commission....
"The new law is a victory for Italy's agriculture minister, who a year ago vowed to prevent 'synthetic food' from reaching dining tables in Italy. He praised MPs for backing the new law, which came in response to a petition organised by the Coldiretti lobby group.... Mr Lollobrigida is part of the prime minister's far-right Brothers of Italy party and has previously extolled Italy's proud tradition of food and wine culture.
"But the petition was condemned by Prof Elena Cattaneo, a lifelong senator and leading bioscience specialist, who said it was a emotive, cartoon-style leaflet that classed natural food as good and cultivated food as bad and made from 'crazy cells in bioreactors'.
"The law bars synthetic foods produced from animal cells without killing the animal and prevents producers from using meat-related words on labels to describe plant-based protein. Critics point out there is nothing synthetic about lab-grown meat, as it is created by growing natural cells without genetic modification.
"The law is also a blow for animal welfare groups, who have highlighted lab-made meat as a solution towards protecting the environment from carbon emissions."
June 19, 2023 - "On a jaunt to the Global Food Security Summit in 2022, even European Council President Charles Michel noted that the need for stable food supplies was 'the major global challenge today … and now is the time for all of us to translate our political commitments into concrete action.' Alas, at the EU level, 'concrete action' has turned into a euphemism for undermining the very agricultural sector that feeds its citizens. And thanks to the bloc’s determination to position Europe as the global hero of climate action, Brussels is well on its way to alienating and impoverishing a large part of rural Europe.
"Setting increasingly ambitious environmental targets from the comfort of haute cuisine Brussels is one thing. But navigating the fraught local realities — which achieving such goals actually entails — is a totally different bag of frites. Just look at the Netherlands. After decades of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funding that prioritized greater output, Dutch farmers are now being told they are the ultimate villains of the emissions reduction debate. So, despite being lauded in the press as the 'tiny country that feeds the world' ... tens of thousands of Dutch livestock farms are now facing closure or mandatory state appropriation.
"This is all unfolding against the backdrop of a 'greening' CAP, which has already seen European farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent between 1990 and 2010.... [F]armers’ misgivings aren’t about denying climate change — which impacts them greatly — or misunderstanding the actions required to mitigate its worst effects. They’re about the lack of realism in Brussels when it comes to setting time frames to achieve the EU’s environmental targets — because it is those time frames that will collapse rural economies.
"As it currently stands, farmers are literally being squeezed to death between the bloc’s emissions and biodiversity goals. And this is gutting rural Europe — and its 10 million family farms — from the inside out. Remarkably, though, Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski in the Berlaymont doesn’t seem to really care, despite widening a rural-urban divide that will ultimately benefit populists on both sides of the political spectrum.
"From a farming perspective, rural Europe is being disproportionately targeted by policymakers as easy prey. So, while car manufacturers (in Germany), the nuclear industry (in France) and big pharmaceutical companies (in Ireland and other member countries) have their state sponsors to water down — or delay — proposed European legislation, farmers are being hung out to dry on the altar of the EU’s climate ambitions. And agriculture isn’t even the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the EU. In fact, total agricultural emissions are equivalent to less than two-thirds of those derived from manufacturing or energy generation.
"In this context, the EU’s climate approach — and its role in mainstreaming fringe economics — is already fanning rural social unrest. For example, the right-wing FarmerCitizenMovement (BoerBurgerBeweging, BBB) is now the largest party in the Dutch Senate and all provincial assemblies, despite only being established in 2019. And therein lies a warning for the bloc’s complacency when it comes to rural Europe: The Dutch experience shows that disputes regarding centralized environmental planning can also tap into wider feelings of rural disconnection. How else could the Netherlands — with just 50,000 farmers — deliver nearly 1.5 million votes for the BBB in early 2023?...
"These movements are really about representing those living outside big cities who feel excluded from policymaking in national capitals. And they are giving a voice to small-town residents who feel threatened by governments’ increasingly rigid approach to social and environmental objectives. So, as the growing opposition toward the proposed Nature Restoration Law continues to grab headlines, it’s only a cypher for a rural Europe that feels more and more alienated from urban policymaking elites.... Brussels is well on the way to losing rural Europe — and it only has itself to blame."
Eoin Drea is senior research officer at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies.
June 14, 2023 - "People in North Korea have told the BBC food is so scarce their neighbours have starved to death. Exclusive interviews gathered inside the world's most isolated state suggest the situation is the worst it has been since the 1990s.... The government sealed its borders in 2020, cutting off vital supplies. It has also tightened control over people's lives, our interviewees say. Pyongyang told the BBC it has always prioritised its citizens' interests.
"The BBC has secretly interviewed three ordinary people in North Korea, with the help of the organisation Daily NK which operates a network of sources in the country. They told us that since the border closure, they are afraid they will either starve to death or be executed for flouting the rules. It is extremely rare to hear from people living in North Korea. The interviews reveal a 'devastating tragedy is unfolding' in the country, said Sokeel Park from Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), which supports North Korean escapees.
"One woman living in the capital Pyongyang told us she knew a family of three who had starved to death at home. 'We knocked on their door to give them water, but nobody answered,' Ji Yeon said. When the authorities went inside, they found them dead, she said. Ji Yeon's name has been changed to protect her, along with those of the others we interviewed.
"A construction worker who lives near the Chinese border ... told us food supplies were so low that five people in his village had already died from starvation. 'At first, I was afraid of dying from Covid, but then I began to worry about starving to death,' he said.
"North Korea has never been able to produce enough food for its 26 million people. When it shut its border in January 2020, authorities stopped importing grain from China, as well as the fertilisers and machinery needed to grow food. Meanwhile, they have fortified the border with fences, while reportedly ordering guards to shoot anyone trying to cross. This has made it nearly impossible for people to smuggle in food to sell at the unofficial markets, where most North Koreans shop.
"A market trader from the north of the country ... told us that almost three quarters of the products in her local market used to come from China, but that it was 'empty now'. She, like others who make their living selling goods smuggled across the border, has seen most of her income disappear. She told us her family has never had so little to eat, and that recently people had been knocking on her door asking for food because they were so hungry.
"From Pyongyang, Ji Yeon told us she had heard of people who had killed themselves at home or disappeared into the mountains to die, because they could no longer make a living. She was struggling to feed her children, she said. Once, she went two days without eating and thought she was going to die in her sleep.
"In the late 1990s, North Korea experienced a devastating famine which killed as many as three million people. Recent rumours of starvation, which these interviews corroborate, have prompted fears the country could be on the brink of another catastrophe."
June 3, 2023 - "Irish farmers are rebelling against a proposal to cull tens of thousands of cattle a year to help Ireland meet its climate change targets.
"The Irish government wants to reduce emissions from farming by a quarter by 2030. Media reports last week suggested that one option being considered was to reduce the national dairy herd by 10 per cent – meaning a cull of 65,000 cows a year for three years, at a cost of €200 million (£170 million) annually.
"One Irish politician described the plan as 'absolute madness' and there are warnings that some farmers will refuse, and others will leave the sector, if an order is introduced.
"The Irish government says that no final policy decision has been taken and that any cull would be voluntary as part of a 'retirement exit scheme' for farmers. But some farmers fear it will not be possible to meet the targets with only a voluntary cull.
"Tim Cullinan, president of the Irish Farmers’ Association, warned that beef and dairy production would simply shift to other countries ... undermining the attempted emissions savings. 'Reports like this only serve to further fuel the view that the government is working behind the scenes to undermine our dairy and livestock sectors,' he said. 'While there may well be some farmers who wish to exit the sector, we should all be focusing on providing a pathway for the next generation to get into farming'.
"Pat McCormack, president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, said it was “frustrating” that the industry was being targeted. 'We’re the one industry with a significant roadmap, and, to be quite honest with you, our herd isn’t any larger than it was 25 to 30 years ago,' he said.... If there is to be a cull, he said, 'it needs to be a voluntary scheme. That’s absolutely critical'.
April 29, 2023 - "Meat is crucial for human health, scientists have warned, as they called for an end to the 'zealotry' pushing vegetarian and vegan diets.
"Dozens of experts were asked to look into the science behind claims that meat eating causes disease and is harmful for the planet in a special issue of Animal Frontiers. They warned that it is difficult to replace the nutritional content of meat, arguing that poorer communities with low meat intake often suffer from stunting, wasting and anaemia driven by a lack of vital nutrients and protein.
"In recent years, there has been a widespread societal push towards plant-based diets, with schemes such as Veganuary and meat-free Mondays encouraging the public away from meat. The major Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factor Study, published in The Lancet in 2020, also suggested that a diet high in red meat was responsible for 896,000 deaths worldwide, and was the fifth leading dietary risk factor.
"But researchers argue that unprocessed meat delivers most of the vitamin B12 intake in human diets, plays a major role in supplying retinol, omega-3 fatty acids and minerals such as iron and zinc, as well as important compounds for metabolism, such as taurine and creatine.
"In one paper published in the issue, experts found no good evidence to support red meat being dangerous below intakes of 75g per day, and argued that the link between red meat and disease vanished when part of a healthy diet, suggesting it was the rest of the diet that was fuelling health problems. Dr Alice Stanton, of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, one of the authors of the review, said:
The peer-reviewed evidence published reaffirms that [the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Risk Factors Report] which claimed that consumption of even tiny amounts of red meat harms health is fatally scientifically flawed. In fact, removing fresh meat and dairy from diets would harm human health. Women, children, the elderly and low income would be particularly negatively impacted....
"The new edition includes a declaration signed by nearly 1,000 scientists across the globe arguing that livestock farming was too important to society to 'become the victim of zealotry'. The Dublin Declaration includes signatories from the universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Bristol, Belfast, Newcastle, Nottingham, Surrey as well as several scientists from Britain’s world-leading agricultural and farming university Harper Adams.
"'Livestock-derived foods provide a variety of essential nutrients and other health-promoting compounds, many of which are lacking in diets even among those populations with higher incomes,' the declaration states. 'Well-resourced individuals may be able to achieve adequate diets while heavily restricting meat, dairy and eggs. However, this approach should not be recommended for general populations.' The researchers warned that those who need to eat animal products included young children, adolescents, pregnant and lactating women, women of reproductive age, older adults and the chronically ill....
"The intervention was welcomed by the National Farmers Union (NFU) who were this week promoting Great British Beef Week. Richard Findlay, the NFU livestock board chair, said: 'This peer-reviewed research confirms what we’ve always known – that red meat is a quality, nutritious protein that plays a critical role in a healthy, sustainable balanced diet.'"
When the CEOs of Canada's major grocery chains testified at the parliamentary committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food last week, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh sat in o try, but fail, to flame high grocery profits for inflation.
March 10, 2023 - "Galen Weston Jr. ... is one of Canada’s wealthiest people ... he’s charging us far more than we’d like with food inflation at 10 per cent, and his gargantuan company, Loblaw, parent company of outlets such as No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore and Shoppers Drug Mart, makes enormous profits, with $556 million profit in the third quarter alone, up 29 per cent from last year.
"The NDP pushed to get Weston before a parliamentary committee to answer questions. But I reckon that when the two faced off in Ottawa on Wednesday, Singh got far more than he bargained for in the one-two punch of Weston and fellow grocery store executive Michael Medline of Empire/Sobeys.
"Medline pointed out food inflation is happening around the world and is driven by factors such as soaring energy costs. In the last three years, all input costs in food production and distribution have gone up, Medline said, including butter (up 59 per cent), corn oil (140 per cent), wheat (109 per cent) and four (63 per cent for baked goods, and tin (53 per cent) and pulp (45 per cent)....
"When a customer buys $25 in groceries, his company’s profit is just $1, Weston said of Loblaw. 'That means even if the industry had zero profits, a $25 dollar grocery basket would still cost $24. So the claim that Canadian grocers can correct food price inflation is simply wrong.' Other products such as financial services, clothing and, most importantly, pharmaceutical sales make up more than half of Loblaw’s business, Weston said, and they drove its higher profits....
"Singh asked Weston the same pointed question repeatedly. 'We have families that are struggling to buy food for their kids in a G7 country and they look at you and they see you making record profits. How can you justify that?' Singh accused Loblaw of making 'excess profit' of $1 million per day. Loblaw is a big company so the numbers are large, Weston said. 'Reasonable profitability is an important part of operating a successful business. I think a dollar (profit) out of $25 of sales is reasonable.'
"To test the credibility of Singh and Weston’s claims, I went to Prof. Sylvain Charlebois of Dalhousie University, who testified previously on food inflation.... It now costs more to ship food, Charlebois said, with unstable energy costs, unstable geo-politics and drought all playing a role. 'It’s a bit bizarre to see people pointing fingers at either a company or a man. Is Galen Weston responsible for Germany’s 20 per cent food inflation rate? I don’t think so.… When I see a guy like Jagmeet Singh attacking the grocers, I just don’t know where he’s coming from.' Canadian grocers have margins of 4.5 to 6.0 per cent on food sales, Charlebois said....
"John Barlow, a Conservative MP from rural Alberta, referenced the expert testimony that inflationary government spending and an uncompetitive tax regime, including the carbon tax, are drivers of food inflation.... Barlow might also have mentioned Singh’s steadfast support of policies that have made energy scarce and expensive, such as the NDP’s dogged opposition to nuclear power and oil and gas production.... This is a root cause of food inflation on a global scale, given how critical our previous low fuel prices were in pushing down input costs. If Singh is in need of a scapegoat for families not being able to feed their kids, he would do well to first look in the mirror."
The Dutch government's plans to fight climate change by slashing the country's livestock population continues to meet with resistance from Netherlands farners,
December 8, 2022 - "Bart Kooijman raises 120 cows on 50 hectares in western Holland. If authorities push ahead with plans to halve nitrogen emissions from agriculture by 2030, his could be among thousands of farms that will have to shrink or close. In an attempt to quell a summer of fury, which saw farmers setting hay bales ablaze and dumping manure on motorways, the government said in November it would buy out as many as 3,000 of the biggest emitters in a voluntary one-time offer, setting aside €24.3 billion ($25.6 billion) to fund the transition. Those who refuse will be forced out of business. 'We don’t want to make fires or block roads but if we do nothing, it’s over,' says Kooijman, a father of two. 'We’ll just get kicked off the land'....
"[A]griculture is ... a major climate offender. From farm to fork, the food system generates about 31% of global greenhouse gas emissions.... Agricultural emissions rose 14% between 2000 and 2018, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. If action isn’t taken fast, researchers estimate that food-related emissions alone would push the Earth past 1.5C of warming that world leaders set as a target in the 2015 Paris Agreement. So after focusing for years on fossil fuels, policymakers are beginning to target farming too....
"Politically, however, agriculture could prove trickier to tackle than sectors like mining, energy or cars, which are dominated by a small number of big, corporate players. Farmers are a force of millions, some with small holdings that have been in families for generations, giving them an attachment to land — and occupation — that runs deeper than profit.
"Soaring food, fuel and fertilizer prices are already spurring public discontent. Polish and Greek farmers drove tractors to their capitals to voice grievances earlier this year and protests in solidarity with Dutch farmers erupted across Europe. Farmer protests have surged around the globe — in Europe they’re up 30% from 2021 — and are expected to gain momentum in the coming months and years, driven by inflation, drought and tightening environmental regulation, according to a tracker produced by political risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft.
"Agriculture is a major export sector for many countries, but food is also a basic human need, and what we eat is often engrained in our heritage and sense of identity. It’s a more politically charged issue than many. That’s why the Dutch standoff has struck an international cord, catapulting farmers to the center of a global culture war that’s seen them demonized by activists advocating vegan lifestyles and lionized by right-wing groups opposed to government regulations on everything from Covid to climate....
"On Twitter, activists using the hashtag #NoFarmersNoFood have tapped a primordial fear — that imposing environmental safeguards means the world won’t produce enough food for a growing population. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already exacerbated worries over food insecurity by pushing up the price of grains and fertilizers. Farmers have picked up the refrain, warning that climate-related regulation will mean not only less food but higher prices in the supermarket for consumers already grappling with the worst inflation in decades.
"The debate has exacerbated the disconnect between rural and urban dwellers, stretching an old political divide into a cultural chasm.... Farmers are 'ordinary people but they feel treated like criminals. Everything farmers do is bad; poison sprayers, environmental polluters, mistreatment of animals,' says Caroline van der Plas, leader of the populist Farmer-Citizen Movement, which stormed onto the Dutch political scene in 2019. 'They feel undervalued and have no space to expand or develop their business and are very worried about their future.'"
October 10, 2022 -'Mexico's move to exempt some foodmakers and retailers from quality checks from national health regulators as part of an anti-inflation plan to keep costs down is a 'goodwill' agreement,
"President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday. Last week, Lopez Obrador and officials announced the plan made with companies such as Walmart's Mexico unit (WALMEX.MX) and tortilla maker Gruma (GRUMAB.MX). The plan also exempts them from paying import tariffs on food products.
"The agreement puts the responsibility on the signatory companies of ensuring that their imported products meet safety and quality standards. Finance Minister Rogelio Ramirez said it applied to all food products, not just basic foodstuffs, brought in by the companies.
"The measure, which must be published in Mexico's official gazette to take effect, has stirred discontent from competitors. It's also sparked concerns that the deal could violate a trade deal with the United States and Canada and may also allow crop and animal diseases to be brought in.
"'We have to ensure that food prices do not increase,' the president said in a regular news conference Monday, when asked about the weakened regulations. Lopez Obrador said the move was made to cut through bureaucratic red tape from regulators Senasica, Mexico's agricultural inspector, and Cofepris, a health regulator.
"All trade between Mexico and its main partner, the United States, has been tariff-free for years. Mexico also has trade agreements with several dozen other nations that include clauses slashing tariffs for agricultural products. If Mexico allows food products to enter from countries without such agreements, it could be in violation of existing treaties, experts say.
"'That's the punitive part,' said Rocio Ruiz, a former economy ministry official, regarding a potential trade agreement violation. 'In general, these treaties do prohibit you from discriminating against trade allies by giving such a benefit to national companies,' she said Monday at a forum organized by economic competition authority Cofece.
"Senasica has since said it was working with Mexican industry to protect food production and that it will redouble efforts to help importing firms avoid bringing in pests or diseases."
"Moe signed a strongly worded letter ... from Jeremy Cockrill, the Minister in charge of Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency. The letter dated Sunday, August 21st states farmers from at least 3 different communities in southern Saskatchewan have reported Government of Canada employees in marked vehicles have been trespassing on their private land. When confronted, the agents have admitted to testing dugouts for nitrogen levels.
"On his official Facebook page Moe says 'We are demanding an explanation from federal Minister Guilbeault on why his department is trespassing on private land without the owners’ permission to take water samples from dugouts'....
"'We have received reports of this occurring in several places throughout our province. We have advised the federal government that this should cease immediately and if it does not, it will be considered a violation of the province’s Trespass Act. Violating this Act is serious, including a maximum penalty of $25,000 for repeat offenders, up to six months imprisonment following a conviction for a first or subsequent trespass offence, and a $200,000 maximum penalty for any corporation that counsels and/or aids in the commission of that offence'....
"The letter from Saskatchewan comes on the heals of another strongly worded letter from Manitoba’s Agriculture Minister Heather Stefanson. In Stephanson’s letter to Prime Minister Trudeau, she says this is no time to cut food supply and raise the price of groceries."
August 6, 2022 - "Dutch farmers have vowed to cause chaos in the country with their 'hardest demonstrations ever' The Dutch government sparked fury with its proposals to curb livestock numbers by a third in order to slash nitrogen emissions. In recent months, the country has been brought to its knees, with farmers blocking roads, airports, supermarket distribution centres, as well as manure sprayed at police officers and hay bales torched in dirty protests.
"The mass disruption led the Dutch government to appoint a mediator in the hope of brokering a pact with the farmers to curb future protests. But the militant Farmers Defence Force, which represents eight agricultural organisations, some 95 per cent of the industry, was locked out of the first round of negotiations earlier this week with Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
"Following the talks on Friday, the group said it was extremely disappointed with their outcome, as ministers refused to budge from their targets. FDF foreman Mark van den Oever on Saturday said: 'If I have a taste of the mood, I think you can prepare for the toughest demonstrations that FDF has ever conducted'....
"The first signs of backlash following the talks appeared early Saturday when farmers smashed down a fence in order to light a fire next to a busy highway in Putten, close to Amsterdam. Escaping in their tractors, the protesters then drove the wrong way on the road as they fled the police....
"The Netherlands’ vast industrial farming system has turned it into an agricultural powerhouse, only second in global exports behind the United States. However, the government’s assault on the €105 billion-a-year agriculture business has triggered an outpouring of public support for farmers.
"Mr Rutte’s ruling coalition is in dire straits, according to pollsters, who blame the emission cuts for the slump. The studies suggest the 55-year-old prime minister, the country’s longest serving leader, could lose 13 of his 34 seats in Parliament. Meanwhile the newly-formed Farmer-Citizen Movement is now polling in second place behind Me Rutte’s VVD party, expected to secure 18 seats at the next election, scheduled for March 2025."
July 22, 2022 - "Provincial agriculture ministers are expressing frustration with the Trudeau government over plans to effectively reduce fertilizer use by Canada’s farmers in the name of fighting climate change. A meeting of federal and provincial ministers wrapped up in Saskatoon on Friday with several provinces saying they are disappointed.
"The federal government is looking to impose a requirement to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizers saying it is a greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. While the Trudeau government says they want a 30% reduction in emissions, not fertilizer, farm producer groups say that at this point, reducing nitrous oxide emissions can’t be done without reducing fertilizer use....
"Several provincial governments, and organizations representing farmers have asked for emissions reductions from fertilizer to be measured via intensity – how much food is produced compared to the amount of fertilizer used. The Trudeau government is demanding an absolute reduction in emissions, which farmers say will result in less food being produced at a time when the world can ill afford it.
“'The world is looking for Canada to increase production and be a solution to global food shortages. The Federal government needs to display that they understand this,' Alberta minister Nate Horner said. 'We’re really concerned with this arbitrary goal,' Saskatchewan’s David Marit said.
"Federal minister Marie-Claude Bibeau called the government’s target ambitious but claims it’s one that farmers will embrace.... Farm groups, like the Western Canadian Wheat Growers, have said the federal plan will reduce crop output, reduce income for farm families and increase food prices in Canadian grocery stores.... Similar plans to reduce fertilizer use have resulted in mass protests in Europe, in particular the Netherlands."
July 18, 2022 - "A farmers protest that began in The Netherlands over proposals to slash emissions has spread to other parts of Europe with cultivators in Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland taking to the streets in solidarity with their counterparts.
"It all kicked off in June as Dutch farmers protested over their government’s proposals to slash emissions of damaging pollutants, a plan that will likely force cultivators to cut their livestock herds or stop work altogether.... Some 40,000 farmers gathered in June in the central Netherlands' agricultural heartland to protest the government's plans. Many arrived by tractor, snarling traffic around the country.... Days later, farmers again took their protests to crowded highways, driving slowly along the roads or stopping altogether. Some have dumped hay bales on roads, and small groups demonstrated at town and city halls, in some cases starting bonfires outside the buildings. Some farmers set hay bales ablaze alongside highways, while others gathered in towns and cities, including The Hague.
"The Dutch government was forced to act after a series of court rulings that blocked infrastructure and construction projects because of fears they would cause emissions that breach environmental rules.... The government says emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia, which livestock produce, must be drastically reduced close to nature areas that are part of a network of protected habitats for endangered plants and wildlife stretching across the 27-nation European Union. Dutch farmers say that they are being unfairly targeted as polluters while other industries, such as aviation, construction and transport, also are contributing to emissions and face less far-reaching rules.... As per The Scottish Farmer, supermarkets are running out of food as the protests continue to intensify. This, as fishermen have been blocking ports and several ships honking their horns to express their discontent over inflation.
"German farmers blockaded roads on the border with the Netherlands and gathered in large numbers to protest near the city of Heerenburg. As per The Deep Dive, German farmer groups are themselves upset over a recent renewable energy Act amendment by parliament, claiming it does not provide enough support for biogas production. 'It is completely incomprehensible that in the middle of this far-reaching energy crisis, a sustainable domestic energy source such as biogas is being curbed in the production of electricity, heat, and biomethane,' Bernhard Krüsken, secretary-general of the German Farmers’ Association, told the website.
"As per the website, Polish farmers also rose up in protest over the cost of fertiliser and cheap food imports being allowed and thus increasing local production costs. The farmers took to the streets of Warsaw shouting: “Enough is enough! We won’t let ourselves be robbed!” and “We workers cannot pay for the crisis created by politicians!”
"In Spain, farmers blocked highways in the southern region of Andalusia to protest against high fuel prices and the rising costs of essential products, as per The Scottish Farmer. In Milan, Italian farmers in a convoy of tractors blocked city traffic, as per Morning Star Online. This comes in the backdrop of Italian farmers facing a severe drought that has put a third of agricultural produce at risk. Farmers say they have lost around €3 billion as a result of the emergency and are being hit hard by rising fuel prices with costs rocketing as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, as per the report....
"The ruling coalition wants to cut emissions of pollutants, predominantly nitrogen oxide and ammonia, by 50 per cent nationwide by 2030.... They warn that farmers will have to adapt or face the prospect of shuttering their businesses. 'The honest message ... is that not all farmers can continue their business,' and those who do will likely have to farm differently, the government said in a statement this month as it unveiled emission reduction targets. Livestock produce ammonia in their urine and faeces.... The problem is compounded in the Netherlands, which is known for its intensive farming practices, with large numbers of livestock kept on small areas of land....
"Agriculture — from dairy farming to growing crops in fields and greenhouses — is a significant part of the Dutch economy. According to a national farming lobby group, LTO, there are nearly 54,000 agricultural businesses in the Netherlands with exports totalling 94.5 billion euros in 2019."
July 15, 2022 - "Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has told the country's military to do 'whatever is necessary to restore order', after protesters stormed his office. A state of emergency was declared after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country, following months of mass protests over the island's economic crisis.... People have been struggling with daily power cuts and shortages of basics such as fuel, food and medicines.... The country doesn't have enough fuel for essential services like buses, trains and medical vehicles, and officials say it doesn't have enough foreign currency to import more....
"In late June, the government banned the sale of petrol and diesel for non-essential vehicles for two weeks. Sales of fuel remain severely restricted. Schools have closed, and people have been asked to work from home to help conserve supplies. Sri Lanka is unable to buy the goods it needs from abroad. And in May it failed to make an interest payment on its foreign debt for the first time in its history.... The country owes more than $51bn (£39bn) to foreign lenders, including $6.5bn to China, which has begun discussions about restructuring its loans....
"What led to the economic crisis? The government blamed the Covid pandemic, which badly affected Sri Lanka's tourist trade - one of its biggest foreign currency earners. It also says tourists were frightened off by a series of deadly bomb attacks in 2019. However, many experts blame President Rajapaksa's poor economic mismanagement.... Sri Lanka now imports $3bn (£2.3bn) more than it exports every year, and that is why it has run out of foreign currency....
"When Sri Lanka's foreign currency shortages became a serious problem in early 2021, the government tried to limit them by banning imports of chemical fertiliser. It told farmers to use locally sourced organic fertilisers instead. This led to widespread crop failure. Sri Lanka had to supplement its food stocks from abroad, which made its foreign currency shortage even worse." Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-610281
June 6, 2022 - ""The catastrophe unfolding in Sri Lanka provides a sobering lesson. The government last year enforced a full transition to organic farming, appointing organics gurus as agricultural advisers, including some who claimed dubious links between agricultural chemicals and health problems. Despite extravagant claims that organic methods could produce comparable yields to conventional farming, within months the policy produced nothing but misery, with some food prices quintupling.
"Sri Lanka had been self-sufficient in rice production for decades, but tragically has now been forced to import $450 million worth of rice. Tea, the nation’s primary export crop and source of foreign exchange, was devastated, with economic losses estimated at $425 million. Before the country spiraled downward toward brutal violence and political resignations, the government was forced to offer $200 million in compensation to farmers and come up with $149 million in subsidies.
"Sri Lanka’s organic experiment failed fundamentally because of one simple fact: it does not have enough land to replace synthetic nitrogen fertilizer with animal manure. To shift to organics and keep production, it would need five to seven times more manure than its total manure today."
"Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, mostly made with natural gas, are a modern miracle, crucial for feeding the world. Largely thanks to this fertilizer, agricultural outputs were tripled in the last half-century, as the human population doubled. Artificial fertilizer and modern farming inputs are the reason the number of people working on farms has been slashed in every rich country, freeing people for other productive occupations.... Without those inputs, if a country — or the world — were to go entirely organic, nitrogen scarcity quickly becomes disastrous, just like we saw in Sri Lanka. That is why research shows going organic globally can only feed about half the current world population. Organic farming will lead to more expensive, scarcer food for fewer people, while gobbling up more nature."
July 3, 2022 - "I know a Canadian man who lives in Thailand. He teaches English as his primary occupation, but he and his wife also have a 'hobby farm' raising crickets.... When the insects are ready for harvesting, his wife — a Thai native — fries them up with popular Thai seasonings. The crickets are then sold as snacks.... For Thais, eating insects isn’t novel. Take a look at some of the other mouth-watering delicacies they eat: bamboo worms, silkworms, grasshoppers and giant water bugs....
"Thais aren’t the only people in the world who eat insects.... Recently, however, it has been announced that Canada, of all places - where I’ve lived all my life and have never known anyone to eat crickets - will become home to the world's largest cricket farm, newly built in London, Ontario by Aspire Food Group. The company’s CEO, Mohammed Ashour, predicts that North Americans will soon join two billion other people on the planet who, he claims, already eat insects.
"Note, though, that the world’s insect-eaters are almost all in third-world countries.... The Thai restaurants I’ve been to in North America offer beef, pork, shrimp and chicken on the menu, but I’ve never seen one offer worms, grasshoppers or crickets. People eat bugs primarily when they can’t afford more appetizing forms of protein. I checked with a friend in the nearby but much wealthier country of Singapore. He ... told me that, no, he has never seen anyone selling crickets. Singapore’s per capita GDP is seven times that of Thailand. Even Malaysians, who live right next door to Thailand but have a GDP per capita that’s 54% higher, don’t eat crickets, although there are apparently insect agriculture start-ups gearing up right now, just as in Canada. I wonder why.
"Aspire’s website acknowledges that it also received a third government grant, namely $10 million from SDTC (Sustainable Development Technology Canada) in June 2020. SDTC describes itself as 'a foundation created by the Government of Canada in 2001 to invest in clean technologies that address climate change, air quality, clean water and clean soil'....
"A search for 'crickets' in this database of Canadian Government Grants and Contributions revealed 24 separate grants totaling $13.8 million for food-related purposes, including another $8.5 million for Aspire Food Group under something called the AgriInnovate Program. As a taxpayer, I object strenuously to this use of my money for the manipulation of people’s eating habits. If people wanted to eat crickets, they’d buy them without any need for subsidies. If they don’t want to, they shouldn’t be continually pushed into doing so, with their own tax dollars doing the pushing.
"As far as the environment is concerned, there are other, non-coercive ways of making agriculture more productive while improving the environment. Farmer Joel Salatin of the famous Polyface Farm has lectured and written about this for decades. His method of regenerative agriculture restores land fertility while producing five times as much per acre as the neighbouring farms in his county. Regenerative Salatin-style farms are popping up all over the place in Canada. I’ve been buying all my meat, eggs, honey and flour from such farms for at least five years. These farmers work hard, improve their land, feed their customers, but if they make a profit at it — whoosh! It’s syphoned off to subsidize their cricket-rearing competitors. Pardon the pun, but it’s just not cricket."
July 4, 2022 - "Farmers in the Netherlands reacted angrily to a proposal by lawmakers, including a plan to shut down some cattle farms to tackle harmful nitrogen emissions. Dutch farmers angry at government plans to slash emissions used tractors and trucks to blockade supermarket distribution centers on Monday. Fishermen also blocked some ports in a show of support for farmers.
"Their actions were part of ongoing protests against a government proposal to slash emissions of pollutants like nitrogen oxide and ammonia by 50% by 2030. Provincial governments were given a year to draw up ways of making the cuts, which were expected to include buying out some farms with livestock that produce large amounts of ammonia. Nitrogen oxides play a significant role in air pollution, and nitrous oxide contributes more to the greenhouse gas effect than CO2....
"While other sectors, including construction, have also been hit, measures to curb the ammonia generated by livestock farming constitute a significant part of the Netherlands' plans. According to the government's own figures the plan to cut nitrogen emissions by more than 70% in areas close to nature conservation areas could lead to the shutting down of around 30% of livestock farms.
"Farmers were calling for 'the entire country to be paralysed,' and vowed to continue protesting.... Prime Minister Mark Rutte has ruled out negotiating with farmers responsible for radical protests."
July 6, 2022 - "Farmers protesting nitrogen emission cuts in the Netherlands gathered again after police fired what they said were warning shots, with no end in sight to the unrest. Dutch authorities on Wednesday said an official investigation has been opened into the events of a heated night of farmers' protests in the north of the Netherlands. Farmers have been demonstrating against a government proposal to slash emissions of pollutants. The protests turned into unrest as they blocked roads and supermarket distribution centers for several days.
"Police say they fired warning shots late on Tuesday and arrested several people after protesting farmers started driving their tractors toward officers at a highway entry lane in Friesland. But the protesters contest the police's statement, claiming they posed no threat to the officers. According to local media reports, the Dutch farmers' interest group LTO called for an investigation, while the police union ACP insisted it was an incidental event that would not contribute to further escalation....
"Hours later, on Wednesday morning, protesting farmers were gathering outside the Groningen airport in the north of the country. The protesters were seeking to block the Groningen airport with their tractors. Medical flights were not affected, according to an official as quoted by the Volkskrant newspaper.
"Protesters are angry about new environmental law proposals that seek to curtail emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia by 50% by 2030. According to estimates by the government itself, some 30% of livestock farmers will have to shut down their businesses.
"Farmers say they are being unfairly targeted.... The government has appointed an intermediary to lead talks between farmers' organizations and officials drawing up pollution reduction measures. But Prime Minister Mark Rutte has ruled out negotiating with farmers responsible for the unrest, which includes violence outside the private home of Environment Minister Christianne van der Wal, as well as blockades at food distribution centers across the country."
May 27, 2022 - "'Conflict, COVID, the climate crisis and rising costs have combined in 2022 to create jeopardy for the world's 811 million hungry people,' the UN's World Food Program warned earlier this month. The organization went on to name Russia's invasion of Ukraine, climate shocks, 'the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic,' and rising food prices as culprits.
"This was hardly the first warning along these lines. In June 2021, the International Monetary Fund cautioned that 'early lockdown measures and supply chain disruptions induced a spike in consumer food prices.' Then we saw Thanksgiving headlines in the United States about the cost of serving a holiday meal at a time when the price of food worldwide had risen by almost a third over the previous year. International disruptions in the supply of precursor chemicals prompted Svein Tore Holsether, the CEO and president of fertilizer giant Yara International, to predict a 'food crisis.'
"A combination of always-unpredictable weather, trade disputes, and pandemic lockdowns stretched budgets, boosted costs, and threatened farmers' plans for growing seasons to come. And that was before Russian troops crossed the order of Ukraine, threatening the ability of two major breadbasket countries to satisfy global demand. 'Between them, Ukraine and Russia produce almost a third of the world's wheat and barley and half of its sunflower oil,' UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted on May 18. "There is no effective solution to the food crisis without reintegrating Ukraine's food production, as well as the food and fertilizer produced by Russia and Belarus, into world markets — despite the war.'
"Food prices around the world were up in April by 29.8 percent over the already elevated costs seen in the same month last year, according to the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization. That fueled demonstrations, food riots in Iran, and violent protests that toppled the government in Sri Lanka, which destroyed its own agricultural sector with a ban on modern fertilizers. Understandably, officialdom in many countries panicked.
"So, in typical political form governments are cutting off trade in what food they have, threatening to make the matter worse. 'India has defended its decision to ban exports of wheat after initially saying it would help ease a global supply crunch created by the war in Ukraine,' Voice of America reported earlier this week.... Malaysia banned the export of chickens, Indonesia restricted (after first outright banning) palm oil exports, and Ghana now blocks the export of rice, maize, and soybeans. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) currently counts 19 countries that forbid the export of some foods, and another seven that require government licenses.
"Historically, these requirements tend to spread, the organization warns, as governments emulate their neighbors to secure domestic supply. 'Export restrictions often had a cascading effect — when one country announced restrictions, others often followed suit, further exacerbating supply problems and creating a panicked atmosphere in global markets as importers sought to secure new suppliers, sending prices even higher,' according to IFPRI researchers Joseph Glauber, David Laborde, and Abdullah Mamun. 'Other countries have an incentive to have similar policies for similar reasons, and therefore this augments the problem and pushes food prices further up,' Michele Ruta, lead economist at the World Bank for macroeconomics, trade and investment, agreed in a statement to the The Wall Street Journal.
"The export bans can also be devastating for local producers who are cut off from international markets. That may mean ... fewer producers going forward, especially when production costs, including fertilizer and other inputs, are through the roof. 'Exporting helps keep the farms running, because the government's ceiling price at RM8.90 (US$2) keeps chicken prices low, but costs of chicken feed keep increasing month by month,' a Malaysian poultry farmer told ChannelNewsAsia this week. Indonesia's palm oil producers similarly protest restrictions on exports. They warn that because of the controls and a resulting glut of domestic supply, 'prices no longer cover costs.'
"It's difficult to find economists who think that export restrictions on food are a good idea. But politicians often support them anyway because they tend to play well with politically powerful urban constituents.... The inevitable result of export restrictions on food, though, is higher costs around the world, and often reduced production at home as farmers go out of business or switch to unrestricted crops. That means more poverty, hunger, and suffering going forward.
"It's all that much more infuriating when you remember that we previously enjoyed decades of steadily declining poverty and disappearing hunger thanks to innovation, free markets, and open societies. The current chaos can be largely laid at the feet of profoundly stupid policy decisions. Yes, drought, floods, and frosts played a significant role, but nature has never been cooperative, and humans have grown increasingly skilled at producing sufficient calories despite the fickleness of weather and climate. It took lockdowns, trade disputes, ignorant protectionism, and old-fashioned warfare to make the cost and availability of the next meal once again a matter of concern for a growing, rather than shrinking, portion of the world's population."
December 21, 2021 - ""On December 7, 2021 the Justice Centre sent a demand letter to the Minister of Justice of New Brunswick warning that the government’s new December 4 public health Order, which allowed private businesses to deny services to Covid vaccine-free Canadians, was unconstitutional. The Order implicitly invited grocery stores to make any conditions of entry including requiring vaccination of customers as a condition to shop for food and essentials. The ... letter also noted that the right to food is a fundamental human right enshrined in various international instruments including Article 25 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights amongst other human rights instruments.
"On December 15, the Justice Centre sent the City of Fredericton a demand letter in relation to its vaccinated-only policy at the Fredericton Boyce Farmers Market demanding it be immediately reversed for its unprecedented unconstitutional and human rights violations. These warning letters were the first step in what would have proceeded to legal action, had the government not immediately reversed what the Justice Centre views as discriminatory and unconstitutional policies.
"As of today, the New Brunswick public health order has been revised. The government news release announcing this change states: 'An option allowing stores that sell groceries to ask patrons 12 and over for proof of vaccination, instead of implementing distancing requirements, is being removed from the province’s mandatory order.' In the news release, Health Minister Dorothy Shephard now states that “the original intention was to give stores a choice, and that those choosing the proof-of-vaccination option would offer delivery or curbside pickup; it was never the intention for anyone to believe they could not access groceries.'
"The Justice Centre is pleased to report that the Fredericton Boyce Farmer’s Market also following the province’s reversal in Order and made their own announcement today on Twitter, rescinding its mandatory vaccination policy. The market, owned by the New Brunswick Government, and leased to the City of Fredericton at a nominal rate announced a mandatory vaccination policy on December 11, 2021, stating, 'proof of double vaccination (or medical exemption) will be required to shop indoors, for all visitors 12 and over.' No offer for delivery or curbside pickup was offered when this policy was announced....
"'This Order which served to segregate citizens ... would have been the first attempt by a government to deny essential services and food to Canadians who decide against receiving a Covid vaccine, as is their constitutional right,' states Andre Memauri, Justice Centre Staff Lawyer. 'Today the Government of New Brunswick and the City of Fredericton have corrected their vaccination policies in relation to grocery sales to accord with the Charter and Human Rights legislation and this is a positive step. However, there is work to be done as the revised New Brunswick Order still infringes the Charter as it relates to faith-based venues, by requiring anyone that attends religious services to be fully vaccinated with the new Covid shots for certain events. We will continue our legal work in this regard. The Government has no legal or scientific justification to tell churches and faith based groups who can be allowed to attend services and on what grounds,' adds Mr. Memauri.
"'The Justice Centre will continue to ensure that vaccine-free citizens are not discriminated against by being denied essential services, such as purchasing food at markets and grocery stores. Denying a minority population in this manner is a reprehensible and unlawful act of cruelty and discrimination.'"
December 09, 2021 - "All major retailers in New Brunswick ... plan to enforce physical distancing instead of starting to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination, says Public Health. Under the new COVID-19 Winter Action Plan, physical distancing is required in public spaces where proof of vaccination is not required....
"[G]rocery stores, retail stores and salons must now enforce physical distancing between patrons, Health Minister Dorothy Shephard announced last Friday. 'Alternatively, they also have the option of requiring proof of vaccination from all patrons, but we will leave that decision up to individual businesses,' she said.... But 'at this time, all major retailers have indicated they will enforce physical distancing instead of requiring proof of vaccination,' Public Health said Wednesday.
"Sobeys will not be asking customers for proof of vaccination at its New Brunswick stores, confirmed spokesperson Paul Wyke. 'We have followed Public Health requirements and mandates every step of the way, and should the rules from provincial governments change we will always adjust,' he said in an emailed statement. 'The health and safety of our customers and store teammates continues to be our top priority and we have many health and safety measures in place to help keep our customers and teammates safe.'
"Retail businesses can ensure physical distancing of two metres is enforced through measures such as using directional arrows, reducing their capacity and preventing groups from congregating, Public Health said. They can further reduce contacts by offering delivery and curbside pickup options."
December 14, 2021 - "Cara Zwibel, director of the fundamental freedoms program with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, said the suggestion that the unvaccinated won't have access to essentials such as food and medicine is worrisome. 'We've been concerned for a long time about premising access to public spaces on vaccination status and what the objective has been throughout,' Zwibel told Information Morning Moncton on Monday.... 'I don't know whether these changes are going to increase vaccination rates or just cause the people who are still hesitant … to dig in and be more resentful,' Zwibel said.
"'I also wonder at what point people are not going to be willing to live under these conditions,' she said. 'We do still have a situation where governments are dictating how many people we can have in our homes. That's a big departure in a liberal democracy … and I think people may be starting to lose patience with that and really wonder how much longer we can do this.' Given that it seems clear that the virus isn't going away anytime soon, Zwibel said, people should be thinking about 'what we're willing to live with for the long haul'.... 'We have to give people the tools to protect themselves,' she said. 'And we do need to put more power in people's own hands to make decisions for themselves.'"
December 16, 2021 - "The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is demanding a New Brunswick grocery outlet reverse its policy that bans unvaccinated people from shopping there. The JCCF sent the City of Fredericton a demand letter in relation to its vaccinated-only policy at the Fredericton Boyce Farmers Market. The New Brunswick government owns the landmark farmer’s market and leases it to the city at a nominal rate. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies because this is not private property, but property owned and managed by government, said the JCCF in a release.
"The farmer’s market announced that as of Dec. 11, 2021, 'proof of double vaccination (or medical exemption) will be required to shop indoors, for all visitors 12 and over.' The policy, which is the first of its kind in Canada that excludes citizens from purchasing grocery essentials on the basis of vaccination status, claims it relies on 'public health guidelines.' The JCCF already sent a demand letter to the Minister of Justice of New Brunswick warning the government’s new public health order of December 4 — allowing private businesses to deny services to vaccine-free Canadians — was unconstitutional....
"'Our position remains the same in relation to any government denying or inviting private businesses to deny Canadians who have not taken the COVID vaccine to an essential service, such as the purchase of food. Any such act is an unconscionable violation of the Charter and has no scientific or legal justification,' said JCCF lawyer Andre Memauri. 'Vaccine-free citizens have a right to purchase food, including at markets and grocery stores, and the denial of such essential service is a reprehensible and unlawful act of cruelty and discrimination.'
"The three [Conservative] Members of Parliament representing New Brunswick, John Williamson, Rob Moore, and Richard Bragdon, released statements condemning the province’s winter action plan which gave retailers and grocery stores permission to refuse vaccine-free Canadians."
September 10, 2020 - "A growing body of research is beginning to show that getting enough vitamin D every day may be an important factor in protecting yourself from COVID-19.
"A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at the health data of 489 individuals who received a COVID test and also had vitamin D levels tested in the previous year. The researchers found that 19 per cent of vitamin-D deficient individuals tested positive for COVID, versus 12 per cent of patients who had sufficient levels.
"A different study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine also found a correlation between living in more northern latitudes (associated with less vitamin D absorption from the sun throughout the year) and an increased risk of death from COVID 19 at the beginning stages of the pandemic. It is important to note, however, that higher temperatures and UV radiation may negatively affect the virus’s survival, contributing to these results.
"Vitamin D deficiency has been known to play a role in respiratory infections and illnesses and is connected to pneumonia, tuberculosis and bronchiolitis, according to the World Health Organization. The U.S. Institute of Medicine’s report on Dietary Reference Intakes for vitamin D and calcium recommends that adults get from 600-800 IU (15 – 20 micro grams) of vitamin D per day from their diet (the exact amount fluctuates based on age). Daily intake of vitamin D should not exceed 4,000 IU per day.....
"According to a study published in the Frontiers In Immunology journal, the nutrients most commonly associated with a strong immune system include:
Omega-3 fatty acids. Known for its potent anti-inflammatory effect, omega-3 fatty acids are most frequently found in fish, seafood, and specific types of nuts and seeds such as flaxseed, chia seeds, and walnuts.
Vitamin D. This 'sunshine vitamin' is tough to come by in the winter months but can also be found in fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and trout. It’s also found in lesser quantities in fortified milk, milk alternatives, and eggs.
Vitamin E. A potent antioxidant, Vitamin E is found most abundantly in the traditional sources of healthy fats like almonds, almond butter, avocados, and peanut-based products. Fish, vegetable oils, and leafy greens are secondary sources.
Zinc. Low zinc intake is commonly associated with compromised immune function, even though most Canadians tend to get enough. Omnivores will find their zinc needs easily met through the consumption of various types of meat and dairy while vegans and vegetarians will need to rely more heavily on lentils and other legumes. The single greatest source of zinc? Oysters.
Tea. While not technically a vitamin, mineral or food component, tea is the richest dietary source of a potent anti-inflammatory compound known as Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which may play an important role in enhancing our immune response."
"Brown’s Whoa Nellie Dairy farm has been providing high-quality, cream-line milk since the 1700s. He sells some of it at his on-site farm store, but a large portion of it used to be sold to a dairy processor who pasteurized and bottled it for local restaurants and markets.
"When he realized he would have to dump hundreds of gallons of milk each week until his 70 milking cows dried up, ... he got to work, literally around the clock, pasteurizing it in small batches in his 30-gallon vat and bottling it up. He posted on Facebook that they’d open up the farm store for additional hours to sell the milk directly to consumers, and the response was overwhelming:
Florida Farmers are Selling Directly to Consumers to Avoid Produce Dumps | Return to Now - Sara Burrows:
May 1, 2020 - "Last month, Florida farmers let countless tons of produce rot in their fields after the restaurants, theme parks and cruise lines they normally serve this time of year were suddenly closed due to nationwide quarantines. This month, they are changing their business model, selling directly to the consumers who are doing a whole lot more home-cooking these days....
"Florida farmers are getting help from the state department of agriculture, which has created a website to connect them to local buyers. Floridians can search the website for farms and co-ops near them and a list of what each farm offers.
