Hopefully you got through the Easter period happily, because today I am not bringing good news: we are all stuck together. Stuck in a rotten system and nobody really knows how to get out. Ultimately, it must have to do with capitalism, about which the inspiring and despite all the misery still cheerful Abel van Gijlswijk of the punk band Hang Youth in a beautiful broadcast of Backlight determined that it is unavoidable.
Even if you want to oppose this system, you are joining it. Either way, you’re going to be swallowed up by it, and that makes us all hypocritical in the end. Me too, of course. Van Gijlswijk concludes that the genius and creepy thing about capitalism is that we can no longer even imagine an alternative to it.
Over the past few weeks I have been committed to the program pointer once again engrossed in sustainable agriculture. In the umpteenth plan (the ‘farm to fork strategy’), the European Commission has expressed the ambition that by 2030 European agriculture will be a lot more sustainable and animal-friendly. A quarter of our agriculture should become organic.
The question is whether organic farming is the solution, but it is clear that it can be made more sustainable and animal-friendly. And that means: more fruit and vegetables and less and more expensive meat. That’s better for the planet and better for our health. The big problem: it probably will never work. For example, the Netherlands currently only has four percent organic agriculture and that share does not appear to be growing for the time being.
The system is rotten. Take a farmer who wants to make his stables more animal-friendly. A little more space for the animals, a hatch to go outside every now and then and fresh straw regularly. Is that too much to ask? Of course not. However, this improvement compared to the standard barns requires an investment of millions. How can it be earned back? By taking more animals! Otherwise the farmer cannot get out. But didn’t we want a smaller herd to reduce nitrogen and greenhouse gas emissions? Too bad.
Shouldn’t consumers simply pay more for more sympathetic meat? That sounds good, but the majority of consumers do not want that at all. They are either purely focused on the price (you can’t blame people with little money for that) or they are not interested at all in all the stickers and quality marks on the packaging. He buys what he always bought. The solution of civil servants and consultants to make even more beautiful brochures and to persuade people to buy more responsible meat with good information will therefore be of no avail. As much as the neoliberals want it, the change will not come from the consumer. More needs to be done.
Then politics. Political leaders must show the courage to take measures that make our lives less fun. Making flying more expensive, investing in sustainable energy – also in the backyards of angry citizens – and increasing the price of (irresponsible) meat. After all, we need to eat less meat and more fruit and vegetables. But because politicians want to be re-elected, they don’t take measures that upset the citizens. Politicians treat voters like consumers. We’re stuck in a rotten system.