On Sunday we look back at the week of NU.nl. Today editor-in-chief Lindsay Mossink about the farmers’ protests.
I live in a rural area. In our village we have a pub, a church and a lot of cows. When I look out the window, I see my neighbor’s son driving around on a toy tractor. His mother and sister feed the sheep, while his father brings in the cows. Generation after generation, working and living in the same yard. Of course the emotion is high.
Our village is adjacent to a Natura 2000 area. When I walk there, I see that the nettles reach almost to the sky. A characteristic of nitrogen-rich soil, our climate reporter Rolf Schuttenhelm knows.
Not only a diversity of flowering plant species is disappearing. The habitat of animals, which actually benefited from those plants, is also affected.
What we see are rioters
On Tuesday evening, a farmer’s protest degenerated into riots. Farmers broke through a police barrier at the home of Minister Christianne van der Wal (Nature and Nitrogen). We spoke briefly about protesting farmers on NU.nl. But the realization came quickly: this is not a protest, these are rioting farmers.
We call the beast by its name. And what we see are rioters. By distinguishing between protests and senseless riots, you also do something for the farmers who make their voices heard in a civilized way.
That voice should predominate, but it isn’t happening now. The irregularities dominate. That makes sense, because the impact is huge. Politicians are threatened and emergency services attacked. Fortunately, the police are not powerless, editor Leon Moleman wrote on Friday.
Stick to the facts
Moreover, disinformation is lurking. So we have to be sharp. When farmers falsely claim that the measurements are incorrect. Or when BBB leader Caroline van der Plas questions science. Our job is to refute such statements by sticking to the facts.
And sometimes it forces us to rectify. Like this week in our interview with Agractie foreman Bart Kemp. In it, the farmer’s leader stated that the government is going to build 25,000 houses in Stroe next to a Natura 2000 area. While livestock farmers have to scale down their activities. That is factually incorrect, according to a statement from the province of Gelderland six days earlier.
What options does my neighbor see?
However, we should also not lose sight of the real story. The story about the future of the farmer, nature and society. That is a great responsibility for us.
Rolf told me that nitrogen-free dairy farming is possible. It is not the cows that are the problem, but the cattle feed. “Just let the cows graze, just like in the past. Milk will then cost a little more per liter, but it will also taste much better,” says Rolf.
What options does my neighbor see himself? And can his son still exchange his toy tractor for a real one in the future? We have to make those stories too.
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