*[Enwl-eng] A new way to farm
ENWLine
Hi,
This breaks my heart. Around a quarter of global emissions come from mass-scale factory farming. And the EU is set to approve a new 7-year plan that means business as usual for industrial farms. [1]
I feel lucky to be part of the WeMove Europe community though, because we’ve come together to push back. Together we’re supporting those developing a revolution that is about greener, small-scale farming. When people in Poland approached us with the idea to revolutionise the fields by teaming up with farmers, I thought indeed we don’t need to wait for policies to become better — we could start on the ground!
That’s how I came to coordinate this initiative, led by an amazing team of activists. Agnieszka, Maciej, Kasia, Marta, Karina, Wioletta, are only some of those activists. They have been hard at work these past months. Knocking on doors, jumping on trains, joining rural women’s meetings. Actions that have brought together climate activists and small farmers in Poland towards climate action.
The Polish government, with the corporate lobby whispering in its ear, is blocking progress on the climate crisis at every turn.
Now, they’re pushing mega projects that would block climate actions for decades. One such project, called CPK, would see 3,000 square hectares of farming land cemented over in the name of more highways and an airport! [2]. Dozens of families could be evicted and stripped of their livelihood. All of this to make millions for a few companies.
If we’re going to win, farming communities and people who care for the climate must come together. That’s why we’re helping farmers speak up and engage in climate debates. Here are some of the things we’ve been up to:
A debate between farmers and affected communities.
- We’ve run trainings for local people: wonderful people who help with the daily reporting of the injustices farmers are facing in their communities, making sure this news is shared beyond their towns.
- Farming communities were mobilised, connecting those directly affected by the CPK cement project. Media and politicians often talk about what the ‘opposition’ thinks about this horror mega project — while ignoring the fate of those that will be dispossessed. Our event strengthened the voice of farmers affected.
- We're connecting farming communities and climate scientists face-to-face: reaching a common understanding is essential for building a common front after all!
- We're spreading the word amongst activists in cities and getting many more excited about the revolution in the fields - because building bridges between urban and rural groups is important.
This is us in the most recent national gathering of the climate movement Extinction Rebellion.
We started off as a few dreamers and a team of committed volunteers. But we are attracting attention as we expand to more farming communities.
Here you can see a map of the farming communities we’ve reached out to so far.
This is the story of just one of the pieces in a farming revolution puzzle. It’s a story woven by Agnieszka, Maciej, Kasia, Marta, Karina, Wioletta, and thousands of WeMove Europe members.
Because however far Poland may seem to be from you, we need to change the way we grow plants and animals for food in Europe. And this revolution is just the beginning! Our dream is nothing less than to see it spread to all corners of our continent. You can help do just that by sharing this story with others now.
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Don't have Facebook? Watch the video on YouTube and share the story by forwarding this email to your friends and family!
Thank you very much for being part of this journey,
Tash (Poznań),
Virginia (Madrid), David (London) and the whole WeMove Europe team
References:
[1] CAP is the acronym for Common Agriculture
Policy, the overarching programme and associated budget of the European Union
that effectively determines whether agriculture and livestock farming are a
mass-production, industrial affair or a biodiversity-loving, pollution-free
economic activity for people.
[2]
https://polandin.com/50555989/polish-transport-hubs-first-construction-stage-to-cost-eur-277-bln-govt
WeMove Europe is an independent and values-based organisation that seeks to build people power to transform Europe in the name of our community, future generations and the planet.
WeMove Europe is funded by donations from our community across Europe. Can you chip in with a few euros a month and help make sure we can move fast to win the campaigns that matter to all of us? Donate
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