17 April is the “International Day of Peasant Struggles”. One may be inclined to think that such a day has very little significance for places like Europe and other parts of the developed world, but one would be mistaken. Struggles over farmland are a very real reality in Europe, although the nature of these struggles differ across the continent, with main differences being between Eastern and Western Europe.

 

There are threats of land grabbing by large transnational companies and investors. Farmland is converted to other uses (infrastructure, energy projects, urban sprawl for example.). More generally, market forces make it very difficult to make a living as a small, independent operator who wants to produce food locally rather than for the world market in an ecological way.

 

In this episode,  we get to hear inspiring stories from those who are farming in order to support life sustaining economies in line with principles of agroecology, food sovereignty, and community supported agriculture. Our host for this episode, Sylvia Kay,  speaks to our guests, Attila Szocs, Jolke de Moel and Samson Hart. 

 

They also talk about the role of spirituality, feminism, and the legacy of communism in European land and farming.

Image source: FranHogan/Wikimedia

Roots of Resilience Policy Report