IT’S amazing that a country as small as the Netherlands is the world’s second-largest exporter of food, but it won’t be for much longer. The government of left-wing extremist prime minister Mark Rutte is forcing farmers dramatically to reduce their use of fertilisers, which will result in many going out of business, and is also planning compulsory purchase of farms to shut them down. This action is to implement an order from the European Commission, the reason being that fertilisers release nitrous oxide NO2 into the atmosphere and it has been designated (not proved) to be a greenhouse gas. However, the volume of NO2 in the atmosphere is 335 parts per billion (no, that’s not a typo, it’s a b). This amount is so infinitesimally small as to be virtually non-existent, yet Rutte is determined to devastate his country’s food production to reduce it. How many of those 335ppb will be eliminated by this unilateral action? The recent successes in provincial elections of the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB) political party, formed only four years ago, are a positive reminder that ordinary citizens will not accept such draconian measures. Nevertheless Rutte has doubled down on the plan and on May 2 was backed by the European Commission.
