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Brussels: Farmers protest leaves streets in chaos (www.bbc.com)

submitted 8 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/worldnews@lemmy.world

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Footage from the Belgian capital shows smoke bellowing across the city, after farmers set fire to tyres, resulting in police firing water cannons to put out the flames.

Protesting farmers, who drove their tractors into the heart of the city and filled streets with manure, are angry at low food prices, cheap imports and new EU environmental measures.

Barbed wire was also placed outside EU institutions where agriculture ministers were due to gather.

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[–] Worx@lemmynsfw.com 10 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The government could use legislation to force fairer prices on "corporations", or tax those corporations and give that money to farmers.

Not saying they should or not, or farmers are right or not, but it's not like the government is powerless here. At the end of the day, while under capitalism, the government is supposed to be our way of fighting back against large financial interests.

[–] Contestant@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I know I'm generalizing a large group by saying this, but the type of farmers protesting are usually generally against government regulations. I believe in this case, they are protesting restrictions on pollution and nitrogen use, not asking for regulations on distribution.

[–] bhmnscmm@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

It's essentially the same root issue. The argument against the nitrogen use restrictions is that they will become even less able to earn income from farming.

Not only are they struggling to earn income due to cheap imports/low prices from corporations, but now they also have to grow crops less economically.

I'm not saying the polution measures are or aren't appropriate. I'm just saying the crux of the problem is farming income, not polution in and of itself.