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Most comments seem to miss the point that The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of food in the world. That the agricultural sector needs to be downsize
by danieldevries 4y ago
Most comments seem to miss the point that The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of food in the world. That the agricultural sector needs to be downsized particularly in NL seems rather obvious. Sadly this goes against populist interests and a handful of very rich private interests in the country.
- ghiculescu 4y agoIt’s not obvious to me. If they are so successful at exporting food, I’d have thought they should do more, not less.
- danieldevries 4y agoAccording to EU law it's obvious. But then again let's just put our heads in the sand and ignore climate change. Yes more emissions is what is needed. Face palm
- ghiculescu 4y agoHow will decreasing NL’s food exports result in a decrease in emissions? Honest question.
- peterashford 4y agoLess food miles. Less cheap availability of dairy will encourage movement to less polluting alternatives. Less intensive farming leaches less nitrogen.
- ghiculescu 4y agoSo you’d make milk more expensive for poor people? Got it. I wonder why they voted against that.
- peterashford 4y agoFalse dilemma. People don't need dairy milk (a lot of the world is dairy intolerant anyway) and there are alternatives that don't pollute anywhere as much, don't need as much land nor water and which are inexpensive and getting cheaper all the time.
- bleuchase 4y agoPeople don’t need a lot of things. However certain foods, like animal products including milk, lead to optimal health. That’s how the Dutch got so tall. So you can drink your diluted nut or grain water. I’ll stick with bioavailable nutrients from animal foods.
- nostromo123 4y ago"A lot of the world is able to walk, so people don't need wheel chair access in buildings". "A lot of the world is male/female, so people don't need made up genders and surgery". ... sounds great, huh? Anyway, where does this "people don't need X" stop, though? You also don't need oat milk, tofu, soy, peas, etc. to survive. Let's just go back to foraging for roots and berries and see what population size we can sustain!
- danieldevries 4y agoEvery country will have a duty to decrease their emissions. Starting with this incredibly large sector in Holland is a step in the right direction imo.
- woile 4y agoTechnically, is about reducing the emissions, not decreasing exports. Cows produce a lot of emissions, meaning, you could swap for something less polluting. Air quality is also not good in NL, because of this.
- t0mas88 4y agoIn this case it's not about greenhouse gasses (those aren't local, so moving something doesn't change the impact). This is about nitrogen which has a very local impact. So moving farming away from over-farmed areas to other places will improve the environment.
- inglor_cz 4y ago"That the agricultural sector needs to be downsized" What about the people abroad that depend on Dutch-produced food? Export of food isn't a frivolous activity, but a need; we have 8 billion humans on this planet already and many live in arid or otherwise agriculture-unfriendly regions.
- danieldevries 4y agoAnd you think Holland is an agricultural friendly region? You have clearly never seen the amount of glass houses from a satellite photo of Holland. They cover a vast area! Polluting farms will get downsized in Holland over time.
- inglor_cz 4y agoCompared to many other places of the world, yes, it is, absolutely. You have both good soil and water. Yes, Ukraine is probably somewhat better in this regard, but it is also poor and at war. Plus Dutch know-how in agriculture is outstanding. From what I know from Czech farmers, Dutch piglets etc. are really the best in the world.
- danieldevries 4y agoI don't deny we know how to raise delicious veal or piglets. But it's stipulated in EU law that we have to downsize this sector eventually. It's not a popular move at all, and it seems pointless with regards to China or India. Still it needs to happen in the long run.
- inglor_cz 4y agoAFAIK it is not just about taste, but about the fact that Dutch animals gain the most weight per fodder consumed - which is actually pretty nature-friendly.
- peterashford 4y agoDairy is a luxury food, not a staple. No-one is going to starve if they can't get Dutch cheese
- xputer 4y agoIn terms of dollar value, not in terms of volume. Still very impressive though for such a small country.