They are the experts be able to agree on technical guidelines or will this Technology Create deadly new autonomous weapon systems. Robot collapse starts aug 14th on t. W. European agriculture has been an environmental disaster in many parts of the continent its ruined the landscape of climate and biodiversity but the e. U. Continues to pour money into a system thats obviously broken. We should be funding organic farming not the over exploitation of nature. The e. U. Appears to have no interest in environmentally friendly Farm Policies is that due
to the influence of powerful interest groups. And we feel calling me a lobbyist is a mean spirited allegation that. The e. U. Is now negotiating a new multiyear budget will it include Farm Policies that do more to protect the environment. And. Farm fields as far as the eye can see this land all 2600 hectares of it belongs to one of germanys largest Farming Businesses agro berdych. Weve come here to talk to the companys Managing Director or bunya to each. Its a successful enterprise optimized for efficiency and production but units doesnt seem to be truly happy in his work. This from the land but its not farming in the
traditional sense we use the latest technology and our productivity is extremely high but theres always pressure to do more. Better govern produces 10000. 00 tons of potatoes a year for a company and braman that makes french fries they grow only one kind of potato here and they have to be as large as possible. Like most farms burdock only uses fertilizers and pesticides to keep yields by they also receive 700000. 00 euros a year in e. U. Subsidies that helps to keep them competitive in world markets. Let alone from that 65 percent of the potatoes end up as finished Food Products but were also competing with Frozen French Fries from the u. S. It really is a Global Markets in Global Markets. The e. U. Actually promotes the development of these agro giants because the amount of the
subsidy is determined by the size of the Farm Environmental concerns are often ignored. Thats not the case with this small family owned farm located near munich they follow the principles put forward by the by a Land Organization which promotes Organic Agriculture practices the farm grows 20 different kinds of potatoes and they dont use artificial fertilisers or chemical pesticides. You hope this you may be moved by Learned Traditional Farming Methods then when ive driven my spraying vehicle through the fields for the 10th time i know that ive made the right choice. Of you admit this but its that thing was initially called does it seem i want to avoid using chemical pesticides and thats what got me excited about this kind of farming. Its got some. Countries hot zones. Gets a 55000 Euro Annual Subsidy from the e. U. And another 50000 from the state of bavaria because he uses organic Farming Methods. Still invests the funds in his farm polls indicate that most germans approve of this kind of agriculture because it helps to preserve the Landscape Soil and climate. There are only 2 viable Business Models in e. U. Funded agriculture huge conventional farms like bird a clean and organic farms like hot silt. The Common Agricultural policy dates back to 1957 its original goals included increasing productivity and providing a stable income for farmers today the e. U. Provides massive subsidies to help Agricultural Products compete effectively in world markets. About 38 percent of the entire budget 58000000000. 00 euros per year is spent on financial
support for farmers. 6300000000. 00 euros of that total goes to germany. Most of that money 5000000000 euros goes directly to farmers based on how much land they own. 1300000000. 00 is spent on Financial Support for rural areas only a small amount goes to promote the development of environmentally friendly Farming Methods. The egos Agricultural Policy rewards big farms like burdock owned which is run by or bond unit which most farms dont turn a profit today one half of europes total farmland is owned by just under 3 percent of all farm businesses. The e. U. s top priority is to provide maximum crop yields so that farmers can compete with cheaper produce on the world market. Theres not much money left to promote organic farming. The e. U. s Agricultural Policy has led to the creation of large tracts of farmland that often lie empty. The use of chemical herbicides like life or sake has turned fields into reddish brown deserts. The e. U. s Common Agricultural policy may be responsible for killing off large numbers of birds and useful insects. Weve come to northwestern germany to meet some environmentalists who are waiting for lap wings to return from their Winter Migration the birds come here to breed since the 1990 s. The lapping population has declined by nearly 90 percent in this area the environmentalists are concerned about that. Stiff test us its clear to me that the fate of the human race is more closely connected to the fate of the last points than wed like it to be just why its important and website to. Our ecosystems are
becoming more and more unstable and the reduction in the left wing population is an obvious symptom of the problem of the any of the others you know that. Lap points like to breed in fields but about 3 quarters of their nests are destroyed every year by intensive Farming Methods the environmentalists mark the birds nests so that they wont be run over by tractors or other machines but the real problem is that there arent enough insects and larva anymore for the birds to feed on. Friend to go up. If the e. U. Doesnt make fundamental changes in its common Farming Policy we lose more and more insects and the left wings will disappear. And then the farmers will be hit with Court Rulings more regulations and other punitive measures and 3rd term it gets tired but for a board that will make their lives even more difficult to fit it on for chuffed and
in the end well have a catastrophe on the hearns vote for farmers and for the environment figured out for chaffed. Intensive agriculture also contributes to Climate Change for example by converting large areas of forest to farmland germanys federal Environment Agency says the e. U. Should do more to promote green agricultural methods. Up to 6. Winds are currently your policies are not sufficiently promote environmentally friendly practices. Believe that farmers who adopt green methods should get a larger subsidy and big farms that dont. Mostly get into the mice and. That would be a major turn around for the e. U. But recent polls indicate that more and more europeans are becoming concerned about protecting the environment it would seem that the German Farmers association would
also be interested In Promoting Green Agricultural policies 90 percent of all German Farmers belong to the organization. In june 28th Hundreds Of Farmers and Policy Experts gathered in vs budden for their annual convention one important Discussion Topic was the future of e. U. Subsidies. But there was hardly any mention of environmentally friendly agricultural practices. The focus was on preserving the subsidies as they are now. The federal Agriculture Minister declined our request for an interview but in a speech she defended the Farming Industry against its critics. I think louts does bite off no one believes that agriculture is exclusively responsible for damaging the climate and the environment the land itself should and allans i guess is. That i want to make it clear. That
a number of Different Things to contribute to this problem is that those who claim famine are intellectually lazy and are not doing their part to help us move forward i think Agriculture Minister is supposed to represent the interests of all the people but she seems to be particularly close to the agricultural establishment. Camp of im fighting feel i know how you feel and i know youve. Got no speech went over well she didnt want to rock the boat at a conference like this but why is the Farming Industry dead set against the proposed restructuring of the e. U. Subsidy system. This event was sponsored by a number of corporations thats the 1st clue. What do these companies have to do with German Agriculture a new study by the institute for labor and the economy at the university of payment
has come up with some answers. Researchers found a number of connections between the German FarmersAssociation Politicians the Agriculture Industry the Food Production sector Financial Companies and the chemical industry. Players here b. S. F. By a crop science and saying get into the Institute Experts have documented a total of 560. 00 connections skippy them and they all talk to each other. The study names 75. 00 Companies Associations and Political Parties theres one group at the center is of the German Farmers association and. The study indicates that Top Association officials represent a range of interests besides farming. All for example association
president Joachim Rick Reed is linked to 18 different companies. This graphic shows All Of You Joachim Rock Feeds connections. For example he says on the Advisory Boards of the over in v. N. Surance company. The shuffler can rent and buy and germanys Development Agency for agribusiness through areas into the us could you dont survive that so far game. Hes also on the Supervisory Board of by a corporation that sells various products to farmers like fertilizers and pesticides on the danforth soft. Feed where is the number of different you not really sure whose interest is actually representing. His interests of the fact that. Several other top officials of the Farmers Association have ties to big corporations the companies that these people represent make good money selling
products and services to farmers the associations General Secretary ban talk chris can sees no Conflict Of Interest here. Its important to note that all of the companies you just mentioned are owned by farmers. And if they didnt have these kinds of Business Connections theyd be in real trouble. Its a traditional cooperative effort even if some of these organisations have now become corporations. If you knew it. But most of these corporations generate billions in sales and have other Business Interests besides those of farmers. The Farmers Association executives benefit substantially from their ties to corporations that sell farmers the products and services they need and the farmers pay for all that with the money they get from e. U. Subsidies. So the association has
a vested interest in keeping this Subsidy System just the way it is. Over several decades the Farmers Association has built up a sophisticated lobbying network that allows them to influence the political Decision Making process earns Public Opinion as well that by in the spirit of sports and it has actual time for some here it seems as though the association will not be supporting Subsidy Reform anytime soon can the e. U. Do anything to help weve come to the European Parliament in brussels to attend a session of the Agriculture Committee the members are due to vote on a proposal to cut some of the Farm Subsidies. Perhaps some of the money would be better spent to promote Farming Methods that help to protect the environment a majority of the Committee Members belong to the conservative Peoples Party group. Germanys alba deaths has been the Party Spokesman on the committee for 10 years death is not only a powerful politician hes also Chairman Of The Board of one of the various Largest Dairy cooperatives buy on mt we asked him whether hes using his political influence to keep down the prices that the coop pays to farmers. As an issue of calling me a lobbyist is a mean spirited allegation for can we can my constituents have known me since i was a young man i had the best Election Results in all of bavaria in 2004 when i 1st ran for the European Parliament when there were more than 30 parties on the ballot i won with just over 70 percent of the vote of the people of my district know me and they would reject such allegations or that sort of question. Dest has also been active in the Farmers Association for more than 40 years and hes
a member of the Parliament Committee that certifies the use of pesticides plus he serves on the bio Advisory Board by Vos Sells Products and services to farmers including pesticides desk doesnt seem too concerned about the deadly effects that these chemicals have on useful insects. Farming methods in my part of the country havent changed in 40 years ago so why Blame Farmers now for the decline in Insect Populations lots of pesticides arent responsible thats what linda move for 40 years ago 70 percent of the past the size that we used were highly toxic we dont use those anymore but back then they didnt bother the useful insects so this discussion is hypocritical for global. But numerous studies indicate that the use of highly effective pesticides is indeed responsible for much of the decline in Insect Populations. A few minutes later
dissent his Party Colleagues voted against the proposal to reduce the subsidies so the payments will continue for the time being and there will be no reforms of the e use Common Agricultural policy before the next European Parliament elections. Because so id rather have this position on the committee than serve as a National Agriculture minister because i have more influence here than a minister does if you will if youre in full swing over those real nuts and by saying that im not being disrespectful of the ministers only because it is obvious they have a difficult and complicated job to do this is always your view but here i can talk to colleagues from all over europe and from all over the world. I can meet with Agriculture Ministers from britain the us brazil new Zealand Australia and african
countries. When they displace pull the wool most that will include. Those countries and others will continue to buy subsidized european farm products. Also serves on the Agriculture Committee and has called for radical policy reforms. Busy to this today theres no law that says we have to focus on International Markets and im not opposed to trade or exports but our