Milk Protest

Have you heard about the outrageous milk protests from the European dairy farmers here in Brussels? We get the fury in this city since Brussels is the head of the European Union. When I say outrageous, I mean OUTRAGEOUS!Swimming pools and fields of farmland intentionally flooded with thousands upon thousands of gallons of milk...

And this "shot" at Monday's demonstration in downtown Brussels....bet the cop wasn't expecting that when he got out of bed that morning!

I don't totally understand - the farmers are protesting the falling prices of dairy in Europe (and I am assuming a decreased political subsidy). In which case wouldn't you think wasting milk would be the opposite of what you would want? I guess it is at least drawing attention. All these photos are courtesy of the Associated Press.

This rambunctious milk protest has been going on all summer long! It was months ago that Dallas and I were trapped on the highway behind the dairy tractors on the highway. The tractors found a new home this week though blocking the booming Schuman Square in Brussels.

We were out of town and missed the whole thing - but this is for sure one traffic jam I DID NOT want to be stuck in!

Here's hoping there will be dairy peace sooner than later!

Here is some additional information about the milk protests:

Farm protests over milk prices ahead of EU meeting

By RAF CASERT (AP) – BRUSSELS — Hundreds of dairy farmers drove tractors into Belgium's capital Monday to pressure EU farm ministers on declining milk prices, as 20 of 27 member nations called for more protection from the volatile world market. About 1,000 farmers from Germany, France and other EU nations protested outside the emergency meeting, throwing bottles and eggs at police, and burning tires and hay. Police closed off the EU Council building and set up a major security perimeter, snarling traffic in parts of Brussels for much of the day. Farmers want regulation to shield them from volatile free markets that have collapsed milk prices. Some 20 EU nations met ahead of the meeting, agreeing to push for a new system to regulate the market once the EU phases out market-distorting quotas in 2015. Led by France and Germany, the nations want assurances for the dairy sector in an increasingly globalized world, even if cheaper products can be found elsewhere. "Farmers are worried we are going to a system where there are no more rules left," said French Farm Minister Bruno Le Maire. "We need regulation; it is not the free market that will get us there," he said. The 20 nations demanded in a statement that the EU Commission come up with cash to relieve farmers' immediate financial needs. "We need additional money from the EU, a stimulus program for the farmers," said German Minister Ilse Aigner. "We need help now." EU Farm Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said member states will be able to pay up to euro15,000 per farmer "in the coming days" but insisted she could go along with additional funds only if the money did not come out of the existing EU budget. "I would be happy if the member states would give me another euro 5 billion ($7 billion) for the dairy sector," she told reporters. "I'm not sure the finance ministers are exactly of the same opinion." Farmers have been protesting for weeks, arguing production costs are currently up to twice as high as market prices. They insist the EU must tighten quotas to drive up prices, rather than sticking to a commitment to end the quota policy and free up production by 2015. "We're here to tell them to make the right decision," said French dairy farmer Antoine Le Marle, who was protesting Monday. "Put in place a true regulatory system for milk production so that milk producers will still be here tomorrow and be paid a fair price for their work." Swedish Farm Minister Eskil Erlandsson, who chairs Monday's meeting, said that the key to better prices lies not with the ministers but with the middlemen between the farm and supermarkets, who have skimmed off the profits from lower milk prices. "While the prices have decreased by 40 percent for the farmers ...for consumers, the prices have only decreased by 1 or 2 percent," he told reporters. The 20 nations want a new system to center on better relation between farmers and food companies to get more stable prices, but such a system would be impossible to set up in time to deal with the current crisis. Fischer Boel said a high-level meeting would start next week to look at ways to reduce market volatility. Three weeks ago, she promised steps to combat sinking dairy prices but insisted the commission would not abandon long-term farm reforms. On Monday, she again insisted that prices were rising steadily to help farmers. For weeks now, many European farmers have dumped milk back onto their fields to underscore the rock-bottom prices they are getting from the food conglomerates. Milk prices have crashed to as low as 18 euro cents ($.26) a liter, well below the 40 cents ($.58) they say they need to cover costs. This year, the EU will spend an extra euro 600 million ($885 million) on "market measures," including earlier-than-usual payment to farmers. The EU has countered claims they fail to protect farmers, arguing they have already made an extra euro4.2 billion ($6.2 billion) available. The 27-nation EU pays the agriculture sector euro 55 billion ($80 billion) annually for support payments, market regulation, storage aid, rural development and other projects.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.