In the clash over Dutch farming, Europe’s future arrives

Description

• Despite months of protests by farmers and an electoral rebuke, the Dutch government has pressed ahead with an attempt to make its farming system more ecologically sustainable.
• But there are deep divisions in the Netherlands over how extensive any reforms should be, and clashes over the role that new technologies should play in them.
• This summer, talks over a potential consensus position between the Dutch government and the national farmers’ union collapsed in failure.
• The clash between the continent’s green movement and its agricultural industry is building steam, with the EU’s flagship conservation law barely squeaking through parliament in June.