Please answer the following multiple choice question, circling a, b, c, or d:.Who said, “We all sense that in a far future mankind may face problems that can be surmounted only by a supreme master race supported by the means and resources of the entire globe?".a) Justin Trudeau.b) Mark Rutte.c) Klaus Schwab.d) Bill Gates.e) Adolf Hitler.The answer is e), but if you answered any of the others you receive a half point..The big ideas, the grand narratives, the “its-for-your-own-good” promises of salvation by the elbow-bumping philanthropist class are rolling out again, this time in Holland at the behest of the European Union..“Change to crop farming, relocate, or quit,” they've said to farmers. Cut nitrogen by 50%. If you're on land connected to the EU's “Natura 2000” green spaces, cut your nitro by 90%..This is about biodiversity and clean air..What is it about farmers that has draws the weaponized ideology of their “superiors” who talk so much about a better world, who hold conferences about a better world, fly hot air balloons for a better world, wear ribbons on their lapels, adopt children from Africa because the Maasii are having way too many, sail yachts to protests for a better world, and make speeches at the Grammies about the better world?.And then tell us we're all in this together..In spring 2020 we were all in this together when the grocery store cashier stood at her till among the masked germy hoards, my dairy farmer neighbour kept getting up at 5:30 so we could have cream in our coffee, and our local snowplow operators, construction workers, paramedics, plumbers, and electricians all kept things from falling apart..You know, back then, when the local CBC stayed in the trenches when we needed local journalism on the pandemic, and our government still sallied forth bravely to that sacred chamber, bravely slogging away day in and day out, the situation well in hand, so that we could huddle at home with our Netflix..Brings tears to the eyes, all this togetherness..Since we're all in this together, its puzzling that 40,000 farmers in the Netherlands are protesting. These anti-socialists with unacceptable opinions are spraying police cars and the home of Holland's Minister of Nature and Nitrogen, Christianne van der Wal-Zeggelink, with manure. They're blocking highways and food shipping depots. They're calling this a war on food production..For some reason they won't get with the program. In 2021 Holland's administrative court said nitrogen must be cut as the government was “in breach of EU legislation”, and the Minister of Nature and Nitrogen, expects about a third of the 50,000 Dutch farms will ‘disappear’ by 2030. Experts are calling it “the greatest overhaul of the Dutch agricultural sector in history.”.Tangentially, the same court ruling, according to Politico EU, stopped 18,000 infrastructure and construction projects, also. “The farming side of nitrogen needs to be fixed first before the building projects can go ahead,” they add..The government has chosen two scenarios: buying up livestock production rights or buying out farmers, some of whom may be forced to sell their land. According to Dutch news, the government environment agency has said, “the cabinet would not shy away from using force”..“The radical solution is a response to the low take-up of voluntary buyout offers,” they add. “Fewer than 300 pig farmers have signed up for a scheme to give up their business.” The government wants “get the building industry moving again in the short term, housing being in particularly short supply.”.In the fifth most densely populated country in Europe, the Dutch government needs development..But, wasn't this about nitrogen?.Farmer spokesperson Jeroen Van Maanen says they have already cut nitrogen by 70%, over the past three decades, that they are losing their competitive advantage, and that there are more solutions to the nitrogen problem than just cutting herds and going organic [See Sri Lanka]. They say they know their land..They say their government is speaking over them not with them. Perplexedly, these farmers, whose activities emit 45% of the nitrogen, think that because they grow food (Holland being the largest meat exporter to the European Union), have lived on some land for a few generations—many whose parents and grandparents fed Europe and hid Jews during the War, and use practices that are already the envy of the world...this makes them entitled to a place at the table, working with the government (or even on their own!) to make tough decisions about the world's food future..But Klaus knows crops.The CBC has said that the World Economic Forum has no influence on governments, at least our own. Holland must be an outlier. On the WEF website, Prime Minister, Mark Rutte (see far left guy in pic below) explains the emergency situation: "Global food insecurity has been rising again. This stresses the need to redesign how we produce and consume food. The Netherlands is committed to forming partnerships that will catalyze the innovations needed to address the food system challenges. I am therefore proud to announce that the Netherlands will host the Global Coordinating Secretariat of the Food Innovation Hubs.. Trudeau partying in the Netherlands .The catalyzing continues. Here is Ramon Laguarta, Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo: “With the right investment, innovation, and robust collaboration, agriculture could become the world’s first sector to become carbon negative, whilst meeting the needs of a rapidly growing global population and providing meaningful economic opportunities. Unlocking this potential will take ambitious multi-stakeholder, precompetitive collaborations to transform the food system — exactly what these Hubs are designed to cultivate.”.Where's that manure spreader?.The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided “multi-year support” for these Food Innovation Hubs, they explain. On top of that, they have invested heavily, alongside the Nature and Nitrogen Minister's husband, Piet van der Wal, in sustainable Dutch food sales. While farmers are fighting for their land, picnic staff are delivering eco groceries around Holland in tiny electric vehicles, saving the Dutch from climate change purgatory with indulgences going to Gates...and the Minister. “A coin in the coffer rings; a soul from global warming springs.”."Of all tyrannies,” says CS Lewis, “a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies.".Now is the Time!.At the end of 2.5 years of the pandemic hardship, while the War in Ukraine is affecting food and gas shortages, one might wonder if this is the best time for a complete overhaul of the agricultural sector. Perhaps it'd be best to get one's footing again and build on the tried and true, for a little breather, say?.“No, it is the right time,” says agricultural expert to the government, Natasja Oerlemans. “There is a change needed especially now with the present food crisis. Especially in this situation we need a rethinking of the way we are eating and producing. Finally there is an opportunity to make this change.”.The WEF adds: “The War in the Ukraine is triggering a re-evaluation of global systemic risk. Now is the time to change it.”.“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Bram van Liere, campaigner at Friends of the Earth. “We would do more on buying out farmers and helping them transition to sustainable agriculture.” (Clarification: by “We” he doesn't mean his organization; he means the government with tax dollars.).For some reason, even with the government's promise of 30 billion Euros over the next ten years, the farmers don't want to comply with elected and non-elected governments who view this as the right time to overhaul agriculture. They're refusing to be dependent on the government, and want to keep their self-sufficient way of life. The refusal to give up their land, their homes, and their livelihoods remains a mystery to experts..“If the supermarkets run out of food,” said Imke Kokke, a resident in the south of Holland, “almost every farm has a small store where everything is for sale. I often buy in those kinds of stores anyway.”.I'm no expert, but maybe there's something here worth fighting for.
