Dutch Farmers Protest “Negative Image” With Traffic Jam

(THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS) As the Netherlands pushes farmers and ranchers to adopt so-called environmentally-friendly practices, those same farmers cried enough on Tuesday. Thousands of Dutch farmers, according to the Associated Press, staged a massive rally across the country that brought traffic on more than 600 miles to a standstill. Tractor convoys brought the message intended to counter the negative image agriculture has in Europe. The concern has been growing as the government plans to pay farmers to walk away from their operations or adopt stricter practices. One proposal would also call on a 50 percent reduction in livestock in an effort to curb nitrogen emissions. At the heart of the issue is the debate over climate change: is it real or not; is it manmade or not, and; is it cyclical or not. Dutch farmers contend that they’ve done more to reduce manmade pollution than any other sector of the economy while they continue to get harassed over misinformation and environmentalist attacks aimed at eliminating meat from the human diet.