On Monday thousands of European dairy farmers protested low
milk prices in Europe in front of the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium by
spraying policemen with huge amounts of milk. This article only caught my eye
because of the crazy pictures of the protest…
Milk in Europe is currently being sold at a price under
production cost due to decreased international demand for milk, causing farmers
to be unable to stay in business if the milk situation remains as it currently
is. The European dairy farmers protested in hopes that milk prices will be
governmentally regulated in the future so that farmers are less dependent on
the rapidly changing European market; they hope that they will be able to set a
stable price which is up to 25% more than what it is currently. One farmer described
his situation, explaining that the “politics are really killing us. It has to
change very quickly at the European level…The way it is going we are in big
trouble.” The farmers seem to have hope because the European Union agreed to
give the dairy industry $360 million in extra aid in 2009 when a similar milk
crisis occurred.
While I don’t know much about the dairy industry in Europe,
if the power of the dairy industry in the United States is any indicator, I’m
sure that the farmers will eventually be appeased and a deal will be worked
out. Dairy is a food group that does not seem to be disappearing anytime soon, and
I cannot imagine any governmentally endorsed diet that does not include dairy.
Hopefully the issue is resolved soon, or else the city of Brussels is really
going to start to smell like sour milk!
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/11/26/thousands-eu-farmers-douse-officers-in-milk-to-protest-low-prices/
No comments:
Post a Comment