Ihe mad gear of agricultural productivism brings us to the edge of the climatic abyss. Agriculture accounts for one-fifth of French greenhouse gas emissions, and three-quarters of these emissions come from the breeding of nearly 75 million cattle. The existential threat of climate change forces us to face a complex question: how to reduce the number of cows raised in Europe? How should this effort be distributed between the different countries of the European Union (EU)?
This question should not remain taboo. This is a major lever for our collective survival. Degrowth, so decried by opponents of political ecology, is already underway. Over the past five years, the European herd has decreased by 4%, or more than 3 million fewer cattle. In France, the dynamic is the same, with a decrease of 8.5% (more than 1.5 million cattle). This decline imposed in an anarchic manner has dramatic social and economic consequences.
Indebted breeders
It is not accompanied by a proportional reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Not facing reality by hiding behind the corporatist defense of farmers is incredibly cowardly. This pseudo-neutrality benefits the strongest, those who are already the winners of the system.
Thus, in forty years, three quarters of French cattle farms have disappeared. Herders are among the most indebted and lowest paid farmers. This carnage is the result of choices made by agricultural policymakers who have succeeded each other at the head of the State and in agricultural bodies.
Competitiveness, trade balance, world market, these mantras repeated ad nauseam lead us into a wall. And yet, it is the same people, the very people who have pushed farmers into extreme globalization, who come to talk to us heart to heart about food sovereignty.
Meanwhile, for others, the evenings spent thinking about bills to pay are very long; even though they are often the most virtuous! It is they whose farms in mountain areas, on wetlands, maintain the meadows, these remarkable areas, rich in biodiversity and “sequestrators” of greenhouse gases. This extensive breeding which must serve as a foundation for the breeding of the future.
Gather collective intelligence
The worst is not inevitable. Instead of the laissez-faire of the markets, let’s opt for a thoughtful and concerted organization. Find a breeding in line with the capacities of the land and the Earth, recreate the territorial link between breeding and vegetable crops, get out of our dependence on the import of soybeans from deforestation, reduce the consumption of dairy products and meat, ensure the remuneration of breeders. There are many trails.
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