Sociology and Space, No. 149-150, 2000.
Professional paper
New (Old) European Agriculture's Problems
Slavko Komar
Abstract
The author recognizes the cause of concern from hunger for poor the part of mankind and
the cause of fear from health risky food in development countries, in the industrial way of
food production. The author - on the basis of analysis published in the newspapers and
electronic media, magazines and scientific literature - describes the role of agri-business,
World Trade Organization and european countries peasants’ (farmers’) federations, as well
as agricultural politics of European Union, and presents some controversies. Firstly, he has
noted the benefits of the industrial food production (low and stable prices, as well as rich
supply with means of living) from the health-risk standpoint (disregard for the health of
people and disregard and cruelty towards animals), he describes especially: the crisis of
Belgian poultry-breeders caused with dioxin (whichs equals the bankrupcy of 14.000 factories);
unforeseeable damages by the Encephalitis Spongioformae Bovis (“cow madness )
caused by feeding the herbivorous animals with food of animal origin; consequences the
application of ilegal hormons and legal antibiotics in food has on the health of animals;
criticism of intensive breeding (fattening of big concentration of animals in small space in
order to achieve as big augmentation as possible, etc.); problems of environment polution
with manure, nitrats and other polutants, and danger (jeopardy) from genetically modified
organisms and technology terminators. Peasants’ unions and public reactions, approach
and relations by governements of some countries and European Union towards specific
questions are included in the article. Peasants, for whom there is no more place in such
food-production, consider the intensive agriculture to have reached its extreme limits and
that nor govemmets neither the European Union are effective enough, that the dangerous
consequences caused by the interests of agri-business (e.g., those of food-producers for
animals with animal origins ingredients and their allies - slaughter-houses) as well as of
pharmaceuticals for profit increasing.
Keywords
industrial way of food production; health and environment risks; peasant (agriculturist); agri-business
Hrčak ID:
120121
URI
Publication date:
8.12.2000.
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