Comments by "Paul Aiello" (@paul1979uk2000) on "Why Farmers Protests are Spreading to Spain, Italy and Greece" video.

  1. Honestly, I feel farmers get too much out of the EU already, especially on the budget, which they account for a sizeable amount of it.
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  2. All protest come to an end at some point, in this case, if the farmers don't end the protest at some point, they will eventually go bankrupt and alternative measures of bringing food in will develop. Now it's just a matter of how long it last, what are the objectives of the farmers and how the negotiations go, but the longer it drags on, the more likely it will hurt farmers. The irony is, farmers in the EU are quite fortunate in that they get a lot of money from the government and the EU, in a lot of countries, they have to fend for themselves, so they should be careful to not bite the hand that feeds them as there are alternatives if push comes to shove, and also, if farmers do become too troublesome, governments in the EU and its members could look for solutions to marginalise them. So as much as I support farmers getting a better and fairer deal, they shouldn't disrupt things too far or many governments and much of the public could turn against them.
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  3. That's the impression I get, more money, protect them from outsiders, which creates inefficiencies. Don't get me wrong, I want EU countries to keep its high standards on food, but farming takes up too much resources of the EU budget already and I think a focus on a lot more productivity is needed, which farmers won't want because it will put many of them out of a job but it will lower cost for the EU, its members and citizens. EU farmers are already too protected as it is, they seem to want more, which I'm fine with some protection to keep quality high, but I think it should be based on them improving productivity, we in Europe spend far more on farming than other countries and I suspect it's only partly because of high food prices, I think the real culprit is inefficiencies from farmers, which they won't want to solve as it will put many of them out of work, but I think it needs to happen as it's a drag on the economy. Farmers might be pushing their luck if they push too hard on this protest, because the EU and many of its members as well as many of its citizens could turn against them if they disrupt things too much, especially if food prices start to shoot up because of the farmers actions, most of the public won't be so forgiving when it hits them personally, so the farmers need to resolve this and fast.
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  4. Lower quality food in the US, and they seem to go for mass production on food whereas in Europe, we are more localised with fresh produce. The US system is more efficient but it's of lower quality. With that said, I do think efficiency needs to go up a lot in the EU on food production, whiles not reducing the quality, being that too much of the EU budget goes towards farmers and in some ways, it's not giving them much of an incentive to improve productivity, so something needs to change.
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  5.  @benitolopez8762  Maybe not, but that doesn't mean they should be given more money, they get enough already, and honestly, I think it might be better to let the free market deal with it, under strict rules of high food standards, and ideally, within the EU.
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  6.  @Peregrine1989  To be fair, the EU isn't Australia or New Zealand, those two countries have a small market and limited resources, so for them, it's a lot harder for them to subsidise food or grow a car industry, the market just isn't big enough and the resources from the government are limited, the EU on the other hand has a far bigger market and a lot more resources to play with. Still, in the case of food subsidise, I don't have a problem with the EU supporting them with a few conditions that farmers get a lot more efficient, and the sense I get from them is that they want more from the EU whiles not improving on efficiency, and probably because in the long run, it will put many farmers out of work and make the farming industry more lean, but for consumers and the economy, that would be a good thing. Like you said, the solution isn't more money, it's better policies that push more efficiency.
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