Photo: dw.com
Mess with a Dutch farmer, get to hear his tractor roar. Thousands of farmers across the Netherlands took to the road, driving their tractors to the Hague in protest and, in the process, created the worst traffic jam ever.
According to the BBC, traffic was jammed for over 700 miles because of the tractors, which were slowly making their way towards The Hague. They weren’t allowed in the city, of course, but gathered on Scheveningen beach to protest They were still able to cause major disruptions, with police warning motorists to be extra cautious both during morning and evening rush hour.
Other than that and a handful of arrests for unruly behavior, the protesters were mostly calm. Farmers took issue with governmental proposed measures to half livestock to reduce pollution and meet the emissions targets. While they were being targeted and victimized, the aviation industry gets off scot-free, protesters told the BBC.
Without farmers, there is no food, they said. You can live without traveling by plane, but you can’t possibly live without food. Moreover, farmers were upset that pressure on the state to meet emission targets translated into rash measures against them.
“Suddenly everyone is worried. We're getting blamed and badly represented in the media, everyone is blaming us for climate change but planes are worse than farmers and no-one is talking about them,” one young farmer told a BBC reporter.
The government educing has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 by 25% of 1990 levels. Last year, data indicated a 15% reduction and measures proposed to get the additional 10% included halving livestock and shutting down inefficient cattle farms.
Farmer’s children also joined in the protests, but without skipping school and traveling all the way to The Hague. As the video at the bottom of the page shows, in the farming town of Ommen, they rode to primary school on toy plastic tractors on the side of the road.
Other than that and a handful of arrests for unruly behavior, the protesters were mostly calm. Farmers took issue with governmental proposed measures to half livestock to reduce pollution and meet the emissions targets. While they were being targeted and victimized, the aviation industry gets off scot-free, protesters told the BBC.
Without farmers, there is no food, they said. You can live without traveling by plane, but you can’t possibly live without food. Moreover, farmers were upset that pressure on the state to meet emission targets translated into rash measures against them.
“Suddenly everyone is worried. We're getting blamed and badly represented in the media, everyone is blaming us for climate change but planes are worse than farmers and no-one is talking about them,” one young farmer told a BBC reporter.
The government educing has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 by 25% of 1990 levels. Last year, data indicated a 15% reduction and measures proposed to get the additional 10% included halving livestock and shutting down inefficient cattle farms.
Farmer’s children also joined in the protests, but without skipping school and traveling all the way to The Hague. As the video at the bottom of the page shows, in the farming town of Ommen, they rode to primary school on toy plastic tractors on the side of the road.
Never underestimate a Dutch farmers passion #boerenprotest #nofarmersnofood pic.twitter.com/UTr9Fhp8XC
— anna holligan ™ (@annaholligan) October 1, 2019
De situatie in Ommerkanaal, bij Dedemsvaart:
— ANWBverkeer (@ANWBverkeer) October 1, 2019
RT @ltovechtdal: Ook de #boerenjeugd van #basisschool CNS #Ommerkanaal in protestmars naar schoolpic.twitter.com/1b4ErxjG75
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