Why European farmers are taking their anger to the streets ahead of major EU summit

It was chalked onto the road with an equal measure of defiance and desperation, warning European Commission Ursula von der Leyen not to ignore farmers’ concerns for better prices and less bureaucracy. The European Union is holding a summit on Thursday — and von der Leyen or any other EU leader in attendance can only disregard the plight of farming at their peril. Here’s why European farmers are taking their anger to the streets: World War II had spread hunger on a bountiful continent. When the war ended, Western European leaders knew that the way to people’s hearts was through their stomachs. So farming became a profession that stood at the cradle of what is now the EU. Agriculture was promoted and heavily subsidized to eradicate any thought of famine. Because of it, many family farmers escaped poverty. Some major land owners turned into global food giants. Today’s harvest for small and family farmers doesn’t look like anything which was sown then, with all too many facing ...