'Ik ken ze. [97], On 14 December, dozens of tractors blocked the Jumbo distribution center in Breda for six hours and a dozen farmers also blocked the residence of Jumbo director Frits van Eerd. Scientists say dealing with climate change will require not just gradual reform, but a rapid, wholesale transformation of the global food system. | EJAtlas. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw. According to documents released on Wednesday as a result of MP questions, finance ministry calculations suggest more than half of livestock farmers will have to stop or slim down. They warned they wont meet with him until the government promises serious discussions on the target and its timeline, suggesting the dispute is likely to continue. A group of farmers in the province of North Holland held talks with two senior officials in the city of [180][182][183] Others who received unwelcome visits by protesters include D66 politician Rob Jetten, Normaal singer Bennie Jolink, minister Christianne van der Wal and politicians Tjeerd de Groot (D66) and Derk Boswijk (CDA),[184] LTO Nederland chairman and CDA politician Sjaak van der Tak, Agractie frontman Bart Kemp, and BoerenNatuur chairman Alex Datema. Write to Ciara Nugent at ciara.nugent@time.com. Dutch farmers strongly mobilized against green reforms enacted by the This is all being taken away. #NoFarmersNoFood . This is the only country in the world where manure is regarded as a waste product instead of a valuable source of nutrients and soil health, she says. One late-night protest ended with a police officer accused of firing a gun at a 16-year-old farmers son. Look down on them. FDF-member Jeroen van Maanen said on the stage that Wilders would only come if there were cameras or television crews and FDF would not allow that. The institute found that farmers were responsible for 46% of the country's nitrogen emission,[41] mostly due to cow dung produced by the livestock industry. [134], A group of farmers from Batavia handed out fruit and vegetables at the market of Nijmegen on 29 October 2022 to "help people with small incomes in the current time of rising energy bills" and to renew attention for the farmers' discontent with nitrogen-related legislation. The Dutch national police stated that they will enforce standard traffic rules. This is the first time the government has been willing to take ambitious, comprehensive measures, she says. It contained several types of meat, which was chosen on purpose'playfully' according to the FDFbecause Jetten is a vegetarian, 'for his health'. [26][27] The protests combined several action groups and an amalgamation of larger goals, which included less government regulation for farmers, more air time for pro-farmer sentiments, and more policy to punish Shell and Tata Steel for their part in the emission crisis. [44], On 11 October, farmers protested against the new nitrogen emission legislation in the provinces of Friesland and North Brabant. The Farmer-citizen Van Campen and De Groot decided to heed the NCTV's advice, but Boswijk visited the protest anyway. [167] The FDF denied involvement in said incidents. [47][48], 1 October was one of the days with the most intense protests. [158] Halfway through October, understanding and support for the farmers' protests had started to decline, but remained significant, per EenVandaag and RTL Nieuws. This is why theres a lot of emotion and pain.. We know exactly what allowance each farmer has and what they produce, while a lot of industrial companies dont need permission but they emit nitrogen.. In the years following the Second World War, during which the country suffered a famine due to Nazi blockades, Dutch farmers led a drive to increase the amount of food that could be grown on their relatively small territory. "De boer dat is de keerl" (Achterhooks for "The farmer, that is the man") is an adaption of a Fiddlin' John Carson American country song and tells the story of the hard-working and undervalued farmer who is deprived of his money. For years, the Dutch The European Unions executive arm gave the green light [118] On the same day, the A37 motorway was briefly blockaded with tractors, resulting in a 2-kilometre traffic jam. [70][71] Out of 4,955 farmers who filled in a survey by agricultural organisation LTO Nederland, 71% did not support potential blockings. Dutch government plans to drastically cut emissions of nitrogen pollution have cleared a key hurdle. Magazines, Florence Pugh Might Just Save the Movie Star, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Farmer Protests in the Netherlands Show Just How Messy the Climate Transition Will Be. The world now wants us to see ourselves as keepers of the environment and natureand thats so new, she says. After a landmark court ruling in 2019, it needs to reduce nitrogen emissions in order to allow building projects to go-ahead in the country. The LTO farming union has refused to interact with a new government negotiator, Johan Remkes, saying the timeline is impossible and too focused on agriculture. A country-level reduction of 50% in 2030 is simply unfeasible, and will have disastrous effects on not just agriculture but the economic, social and cultural viability of rural Netherlands, said LTO spokesman Wytse Sonnema. Between 1990 and 2010, considerable progress had been made in reducing agricultural pollution, during a series of coalitions between centre-left and centre-right parties. Mark van den Oever, referencing the Holocaust during an address to the provincial council of North Brabant on 13 December 2019. No other sector has reduced nitrogen in the last 30 years [as much as] we have. In recent weeks, farmers have blocked off food distribution centres with hundreds of tractors, blockaded major roads and turned up outside regional assemblies and ministers homes to protest. In addition to their disapproval of the nitrogen policy, up to 25,000 protesters also directed their ire at the slow resolution of the Dutch childcare benefits scandal and in favor of compensation for damages incurred by land subsidence and earthquakes caused by gas production in Groningen. [77] The protests led to several fines and several people were arrested by the police for throwing fireworks. Elshof, who marched in a June protest but hasnt joined the more disruptive efforts, says governments and climate advocates hoping to enact environmental reforms need to communicate better and offer more support if they want farmers to make a rapid change. [53] Afterwards farmers offered to assist in repairing the damage. Moreover, according to him, the protest was disorganized, people did not adhere to the COVID guidelines and the police had to intervene. Zo denken mensen over de omgekeerde Nederlandse vlag", "Angry farmers block Dutch highways to protest pollution plan", "Thousands of Dutch farmers protest against emissions targets", "Dutch farmers and fishermen block roads to protest emissions cuts", "Crisis rages on in the Netherlands as farmers block food warehouses over emission rules", "Dutch farmers block roads, ports in demos", "Boze boeren blokkeren spoor in de Achterhoek", "Overlast op de weg verwacht in midden en oosten van het land", "Massaal boerenprotest zet coalitiepartijen onder hoogspanning", "Boeren steken brandstapels aan op A1 en A50 Kort protest bij woning stikstofminister", "CDA'er blijft thuis na protest boeren, Kamerleden krijgen veiligheidsinstructies", "Police prevent farmers' jail break attempt in Apeldoorn", "Apeldoorn vaardigt noodverordening uit - Gemeente Apeldoorn", "Police fire on Dutch farmers protesting environmental rules", "ME bekogeld door boeren in Heerenveen: traangas ingezet", "Farmers' blockades 'will cost supermarkets tens of millions', "Politie schiet gericht op trekker op oprit A32 Heerenveen, niemand gewond", "Dutch police shoot at tractor during night of farm protests", "Dutch fishermen protest with port blockade - FiskerForum", "Vissers blokkeerden marinehaven Den Helder enkele uren", "Ongelukken door acties van boeren op de weg", "Boer die afval op A18 dumpte krijgt 80 uur taakstraf", "Boer krijgt zestig dagen celstraf voor organiseren van blokkade op A18", "Boerenprotest op Prinsjesdag: 40 trekkers op weg naar Den Haag ondanks noodbevel", "Vijf mensen opgepakt op Prinsjesdag, zes tractoren meegenomen", "Boeren negeren noodbevel Den Haag, trekkers in beslag genomen", "Overijssel neemt veiligheid provinciehuis Zwolle onder de loep na ontspoorde vergadering", "Intimidatie door boze boeren zorgt voor dreigende situatie bij provincie Overijssel: 'Het was echt heftig', "Tot 100 uur taakstraf voor demonstrerende boeren die minister Van der Wal thuis intimideerden", "Werkstraffen tot 100 uur voor protest bij huis minister Van der Wal", "Boeren delen groenten en fruit uit op Nijmeegse markt en oogsten steun: 'Zonder boeren gaan we allemaal ten onder', "Demonstrators with burning torches confront Sigrid Kaag at election meeting", "Rutte over fakkelactie bij Kaag: 'Onbeschoft, onbehoorlijk en onacceptabel', "Kaag vond fakkels 'iets middeleeuws' hebben, 'of van de Ku Klux Klan', "Duizenden betogen tegen stikstofbeleid in Zuiderpark Den Haag", "Caroline van der Plas niet naar boerenprotest om bedreigingen", "Landbouworganisaties steunen boerenprotest Zuiderpark niet", "Noodbevel van kracht in Den Haag; trekkers niet welkom", "Vastberaden activisten bij de A12-blokkade van Extinction Rebellion", "700 aanhoudingen bij demonstraties in Den Haag (update)", "Rutte over arrestaties Extinction Rebellion: 'Eigen schuld, dikke bult', "Haagse gemeenteraad verdeeld over gebruik waterkanon: 'Eerder, harder en zwaarder moeten inzetten', "Ophef over inzet waterkanonnen tegen demonstranten", "Demonstrant aangehouden voor poging doodslag agent bij bouwersprotest", "Wilders pleit voor noodwet voor stikstofproblemen", "Noodwet Wilders blijkt deels onhaalbaar", "Trekkers door winkelstraten, Baudet: boeren zijn in de steek gelaten", "OM: Gefaald bij optreden tegen boze boeren op snelweg", "Overgrote deel Nederlanders achter boerenprotest, ondanks drukste ochtendspits ooit", "Wat mogen de boeren wel dat Extinction Rebellion niet mag? Member of parliament Tjeerd de Groot did not need security during his visit to the protest, for instance, and he was able to freely converse with the farmers, unlike eighteen months earlier. Expecting a strong reaction to the announced measures before the government's summer recess, the military again readied 25 trucks and 60 soldiers to cordon off roads in The Hague. Elshof says she doesnt know what will happen to her farm if the target becomes law. Dutch police fired shots at tractor-riding farmers who were protesting against plans to cut nitrogen emissions on Tuesday evening in northern Netherlands. The Netherlands farmers protests are probably the largest uprising over environmental regulation of agriculture that the world has seen in the climate action era. Police used water cannon to disperse a group of about 100 of the activists late in the afternoon. In principle no further emission critically impacting such areas was allowed, which threatened to halt a significant part of Dutch building and infrastructural projects, unless their nitrogen output would be compensated by a reduction in agricultural emissions. The Dutch earn more from agriculture than Brazila country whose territory is 205 times larger. [87] This was criticized by farmers because it would be bad for the health of the animals and would lead to lower production. The Netherlands has a significant agrarian and livestock sector, which produces and transits large quantities of agricultural exports. Some have been organized by people who view the measures as an attack on workers rights and small businesses. We have to do something. [73], On 13 December, in a surprise protest, Farmers Defence Force blocked the roads to Eindhoven Airport for several hours, leading to severe traffic jams throughout the eastern part of Brabant. However, the protest did not take place on the Malieveld in The Hague, because the city of The Hague and Staatsbosbeheer kindly asked them not to. However, a video purportedly showing a tank purchased for this purpose is being misrepresented online. The government plans, reports the Financieele Dagblad, will affect five times more farmers than is strictly necessary. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. [161], EenVandaag reported that around half of the respondents to its opinion polls had "a lot or quite a bit" of understanding for the farmers' actions on 19 February and 14 July 2020. Agractie came with tractors to the Malieveld in The Hague and members of Farmers Defence Force protested in (the vicinity of) Zwolle, Assen, Arnhem, and Den Bosch. But for Dutch farmers, that new direction feels unclear: the government announced the target without specifying how the $25 billion will be distributed, or how provinces will decide who gets to keep their cows, or if there will be involuntary buyouts.