How the EU’s farmers are pushed to produce more to stay in business
This briefing, commissioned by the Greenpeace European Unit, analyses the data and trends in the EU farming sector that most politicians are reluctant to address. It highlights macroeconomic trends in the EU farming landscape, examining categories of farms according to their economic output. The analysis reveals that the current food and farming system forces farmers to industrialise and ramp up production to stay in business, squeezing many small-scale farmers out of business. This vicious cycle, which depletes rural job opportunities and livelihoods, is sustained by the unequal distribution of public subsidies that favour the largest farms, and by the political failure to address these inequalities.
Pushing farmers to go big or go bust does nothing to address the market power of big retailers and food companies, who can impose low prices on farmers for what they produce, maintaining the unfair distribution of profits from food production. It also risks driving pollution, with worsening animal welfare and increasing impacts on health.
Read the full report.
Contacts:
Marco Contiero – Greenpeace EU agriculture policy director: +32 (0)477 777034 [email protected]
Greenpeace EU press desk: +32 (0)2 274 1911, [email protected]
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