The Impetus
Dutch farmers began to protest after the government lawmakers voted on severe policies to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia by 50% they say is caused by livestock. This radical environmental plan would cause farmers to be forced to reduce or even remove their livestock herds. This is thought by many to be a guise to steal farmland from the farmers.
The Protests
Farmers are out in big numbers protesting. They have blocked access to roads, airports, and grocery distribution centers. This is reminscent of the large Truckers for Freedom convoy in Canada.
And the kids are getting in on the action too
Connections
Interestingly, the Dutch minister pushing for these radical laws, Christianne va der Wal, has a brother in law who is highly invested in the food business. Bouke van der Wal owns “Finci” which in turn holds Netherlands Boni grocery stores. This just happens to be one of the grocery store’s distribution centers who farmers blocked a few days ago.
In addition to owning Boni, Bouke van der Wal has a significant investment in the online grocery app called “Picnic”
Guess who also heavily invested in the Picnic app?
You guessed it. Bill Gates.
The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, spoke to the WEF in Davos regarding “food innovation hubs” in the Netherlands for “Transforming Food Systems and Land Use”:
Support
Eva Vlaardingerbroek has been covering this from the beginning. I highly recommend you give her a follow: https://twitter.com/EvaVlaar
Eva is wearing a handkerchief to show support for the farmers. What a great idea.
