© Peter ImanuelsenTractors lined up after the convoy finished
As you will have heard if you follow my reporting, there has been massive farmers protests all over Europe. I recently reported from Germany where the farmers were protesting.
Now the Norwegian farmers are protesting as well, and I met with them.
In fact, there was a tractor convoy on the E6 motorway and I managed to catch up with them for an interview - And I got some videos and photos as well.
As far as I'm aware, I'm the only journalist that went to this protest and got videos, so please share widely!
They were driving a tractor convoy on the motorway in very slow speed to make their point.
One tractor had a homemade banner saying "Our food - Increase self reliance".
In other words, NO FARMERS = NO FOOD. They are protesting for fairer wages. They are not happy with the deal they are getting from the government. I spoke with the organizer of the spontaneous protest. He told me that on average, 2 farms are being closed down EVERY day and they are protesting for better wages.
So what is happening is that small farms are having to shut down because they cannot live on the wages they are getting, and it ends up being converted into large farms instead.
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, the state talked about essentially SEIZING 3000 farms to meet new 2030 emissions goals...
Comment: Which is not far-fetched because a number of European nations stated exactly the same intention: Netherlands to shut down 3,000 farms to comply with EU rules despite UN warning of looming global food shortages
Farmers are facing huge costs. For example, new requirements for animal welfare requires one farmer to invest over $700.000 in a new barn. He won't be able to afford this and risks going out of business.
Comment: Meanwhile at the larger, government approved farms: Ground-up chicken waste and excreta fed to cattle may be behind bird flu outbreak in US cows
The farmers are hard working people. They rise early and go to bed late. They work hard to provide us with good food. Without farmers, people will starve so it is essential to support them.
The farmer I spoke with told me that a large group of farmers were heading down to the capitol of Oslo to protest outside parliament, but not everyone could take part as they had animals to take care of.
Comment: And it's likely that, as the growing season progresses, the farmers will be less able to sound the alarm, and it's clear that time is running out: Europe is wargaming a food crisis - Bloomberg
The farmers have set up empty fridges outside parliament with signs saying "No farmer, no food, just empty fridges".
Farmers have several things they want to ensure fair wages for their work. The average yearly wage corresponded to almost $45.000 for a farmer. This is not a lot.
I'm seeing reports that farmers are struggling financially to pay their bills.
People are being forced away from a career as a farmer because they don't get enough paid for it.
Independent journalist Peter Imanuelsen has dedicated years to reporting the things the mainstream media ignores. You can follow him at https://petersweden.com/
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