Every once in a while I talk to my grandad about what life was like in Ukraine during the Soviet Union. As a passionate patriot of a free Ukraine, he generally doesn’t like to discuss this time in history. But recently, he shared with me a story about the Great Deficit, which occurred in the 1970s, a short time after my dad was born. Products that were made in Ukraine, such as sausages, peas, flour, corn, and buckwheat, were forcefully taken to Russia for sale, leaving Ukrainian shelves empty. It would be an understatement to say it was hard to ensure that he, my grandma, dad, and other family members had enough food in their bellies..

However, the struggles of my grandparents’ generation were only the tip of the iceberg. The USSR’s inhumane starvation policy was at its worst in 1932-33 during which the Soviets orchestrated the Great Famine, known as Holodomor. The Soviets expropriated all Ukrainian grain and other foods. For being unable to meet unrealistic agricultural targets, Ukrainian farmers and peasants were killed, or starved to death, or both en masse. About 10 million Ukrainians died during this hellish time.

Today, despite the horror of these atrocities, the descendants of these Soviet occupiers are, once again, adopting the same policy in many southern Ukrainian regions, such as Kherson.

Russians occupied Kherson in early March. The region is known for its delicious watermelons, tomatoes, and bell peppers. Kherson alone has over 2 million hectares of agricultural land, making it the largest area of arable land in Ukraine. By comparison, all of Ireland has a little over 1 million hectares of agricultural land.

The fertile lands of Kherson and its location on the Black Sea coast have made it a much-wanted target for the Russians. Despite living under the loaded gun, people continue to resist Russian occupiers. To quell any resistance, Russia is attempting to tighten its rule on the occupied territories by pursuing a policy straight from the USSR’s playbook: expropriating agricultural goods and forcing farmers to work without compensation.

Albert Cherepakha, an agrarian from the Kherson region, shared a story about the Russian expropriation of his land. “Groups of armed Chechens, who call themselves Kadyrovites [named for Putin’s stooge ruler of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov], entered my farmland in the Genichesk district on 11-12 April. The armed men said that now my company’s property belonged to them. The Chechens warned that if any agricultural goods disappeared and were not accounted for, mass beheadings would occur,” said Cherepakha.

The soldiers also took over Cherepakha’s administrative building and started looting the farm’s agricultural products. A member of the Kherson city council Serhiy Khan, whose enterprise was taken over by Russians,  shared a similar story.

Other reports from Kherson claim that Russians have allowed farmers to plant only wheat and sunflower but have demanded that 70 percent of the production be given to them for free. In the neighboring region of Zaporizhzhya, locals spotted a convoy of Russian trucks  transporting the stolen wheat.

The expropriated food is taken to Russia and  occupiedCrimea, where shortages have become widespread. Earlier this week, the Krasnodar regional council announced that “expropriation of surplus last year’s and current crops of farmers of the Kherson region will be one of the tools to help small businesses and consumer cooperatives.”

Russians are not only killing Ukrainians, while threatening to use nukes against them, but they are taking food that was supposed to feed both Ukrainians and the world. Ukraine accounts for one-fifth of the global wheat production, with Kherson and Zaporizhzhya  being one of the major producing regions. The blockade of the Black Sea has already caused chaos in Africa, which is heavily dependent on Ukrainian wheat imports, and Europe, where politicians are scrambling to reverse the bloc’s unsustainable agricultural agenda.

For decades, Holodomor and the cruelty of the Soviets have been throbbing in the Ukrainian collective memory. Back then, the USSR managed to hide the truth about the Great Famine from the eyes of the world. This time around, we have the power to ensure that one day soon those behind every war crime, death, and stolen crop are brought to justice.

For the sake of my family, millions of other Ukrainians, and people across the world, the expropriation of Ukrainian food must stop and this barbaric plunder, which has plagued Ukraine throughout its history, must never happen again. In the words of my grandad, “Russia is a thug state, they have had nothing on their own, so they want Ukraine, but the world must finally stop them.”

Originally published here

Emmanuel Macron’s defeat of Marine Le Pen in France’s presidential election on Sunday was a victory for moderation over extremism. But despite the collective sigh of relief from the EU and many in the West, Macron’s work is just beginning and the road ahead is filled with obstacles. 

“Many of our compatriots voted for me not out of support for my ideas but to block those of the extreme right. I want to thank them and I know that I have a duty towards them in the years to come,” Macron said. 

Macron’s second-round campaign was carried by moderate left-wing voters, who wanted to prevent a Le Pen presidency. Marine Le Pen is widely seen as stigmatizing immigrants and religious minorities, all while opposing the European Union. Those voters made him one of the few French presidents to win a second term, but his margin of victory—58 percent to 41 percent—was not overwhelming and the abstention rate of 28 percent was the highest since 1969.

Most fascinating are the first numbers about the vote on Sunday, divided by age group and profession. Macron was largely supported by voters ages 18 to 24 and older than 70, while Le Pen carried 50- to 59-year-olds and was head to head with Macron in the 25 to 34 age bracket. Le Pen’s support mainly came from workers and employees in the private sector, while Macron got most of his support from government employees and retired citizens. 

Read the full article here

War is never a good time for an “I told you so!” It amounts to making a point on policy on the backs of the suffering of many.

That said, Russia’s war against Ukraine has laid the cards on the table not just on Europe’s energy dependence, but its entire sustainability strategy.

Activists in Ukraine have pointed out the degree to which Europe’s dependence on Russia’s oil and gas constitutes a foreign policy disaster; notably why Germany’s policy reversal has been so drastic, if not unprecedented.

While everyone talks about natural gas and the prices at the pump — now as high as $10 per gallon in some European cities, agriculture has been largely unmentioned, if not neglected.

Europe is very dependent on food and food components imports from both Russia and Ukraine. For example, Ukraine makes up 30% of global trade in wheat and barley; 17% with respect to corn. Ukraine is also the EU’s main trading partner for non-GMO soybeans (used as animal feed) as well as 41% of rapeseed, and 26% of honey.

Prices for wheat and corn are already skyrocketing in the war’s wake, especially now that Ukraine has banned the export of food products.

Farmers in Ukraine face a dire situation. Harvest season is going to be non-existent for many, as their crop fields are either war zones or they have left those fields to fight in the war. 

The EU and the United States have sanctioned dozens of products from Russia, not least of which is fertilizer. For Europe’s agriculture market, this is especially challenging.

All of this puts Europe’s agricultural reform into question and serves as a cautionary tale for American lawmakers who have sought to implement similar “sustainability” on prior occasions.

The EU’s “farm to fork” strategy has been in the works for some years; it represents the overall sustainability ambitions of the bloc: more organic production, less farmland, considerable cuts in pesticide use.

The legislative package is a stepping stone for Europe’s environmentalist movement, even though it still criticizes European lawmakers for not going further.

Now that Europe faces the effects of the war in Ukraine, the biggest parliamentary group in the European Parliament, the center-right EPP (European People’s Party Group) calls for the strategy to be called off. “[The strategy’s] objectives must be reviewed, because under no circumstances can Europe afford to produce less,” added French president Emmanuel Macron recently.

Macron additonally warns of a “deep food crisis” in the upcoming months.

The nuclear phase-out of Germany has not only caused the highest electricity prices in the developed world and increased the country’s carbon footprint, it also increased dependence on gas imports — from Russia.

It appears that Brussels will now attempt to avoid a similar mistake with respect to agriculture.

Pausing “farm to fork” is likely to be only the beginning of the ag shift — as Europe runs short on non-GMO animal feed, the European Commission might speed up the process of allowing genetic engineering in Europe.

Right now, very few GMOs are allowed on the continent, due to Brussels’ strict environmental regulations; even despite the advice coming from the scientific community.

The commission had already hinted at a shift that would bring Europe’s legislation in line with the United States or Canada.

In Congress, food regulation in Europe has long been seen, by some, as an example to follow. Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act (PACTPA), a bill introduced by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., , and Cory Booker, D-N.J., would completely retool how America approves and licenses the use of pesticides while importing a “precautionary” approach that has so far stunted innovative agriculture in Europe.

In fact, this piece of legislation would copy and paste U.S. ag rules with those existing in Europe. A cardinal mistake, as the current crisis in Europe shows.

Originally published here

Having failed to take Kyiv, Russia will now concentrate its forces in the east and south of Ukraine.

While the world is struggling to recover from the terrifying photos of Russian atrocities in Bucha, Russia is preparing a new attack. Having failed to take Kyiv, Russia will now concentrate its forces in the east and south of Ukraine. Odesa, one of Ukraine’s major ports, will likely become the next coastal target. Together with the port of Mykolaiv, Odesa accounts for 90 percent of Ukraine’s agricultural exports.

Some of the most prominent Ukrainian ports, such as Berdyansk, Mariupol, and Kherson, have already suffered extreme casualties. Cutting Ukraine off from the sea is a significant military target for the Russians because it would paralyze Ukraine’s trade. This would exacerbate the risk of rising global hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. If the U.S. and Allies fail to help Ukraine win this war as soon as possible, Ukraine’s progress to date will be lost.

Ukraine is a major exporter of wheat, grain, corn, sunflower, and rapeseed. In 2021/22 alone, Ukraine planned to export 20 tonnes of grain, 98 percent of that by sea. Since the invasion began, the supply of these critical agricultural products has collapsed.

According to Jörg-Simon Immerz, head of the grain trading at BayWA, an international agricultural group, “zero grain is currentlybeing exported from the ports of Ukraine—nothing is leaving the country at all.” The Russian Navy prevented 200-300 Ukrainian ships from leaving the Black Sea. So far, it seems that only Egypt, which is reliant on agricultural imports from Ukraine and Russia, succeeded in finding a way around the Black Sea blockade and getting the grain.

Some have suggested transporting the grain by train, but that presents many logistical problems. The longer the war continues, the more expensive it becomes, especially for the poorest countries. The situation is especially dire in Somalia, Sudan, and Ethiopia. The wheat shortages have caused the price of bread in Sudan to nearly double. A week after the war started, the price of sunflower oil in Ethiopia went up by nearly 215 percent. Combined with droughts and the post-COVID crisis, the continued blockade of the Black Sea presents a fateful challenge to East Africa, where 90 percent of wheat imports come from Ukraine and Russia. A report by the Centre For Global Development found that as many as over 40 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty due to the war in Ukraine.

The interconnectedness of our world has made it difficult even for developed countries to escape the scourge of war. In the U.S., farmers have to adjust the amount of crops due to soaring fertilizer prices. A Bloomberg survey finds that American farmers will plantmore soy over corn by 2 million acres this year. If the war drags on into 2023, it could be that neither will be possible to plant at all.

The war in Ukraine has also demonstrated that the European green agricultural agenda is not feasible. The Farm to Fork strategy would cut pesticides by 50 percent and increase organic food production from 7.5 percent to 25 percent. The EU is slowly realizing that it is very dependent on imports, and that a realistic food policy cannot include these supposed sustainability goals.

We have all seen what the Russians have done to civilians in Bucha and Irpin. If Russia seizes the Ukrainian South and controls one-third of global wheat supply, Putin won’t hesitate a second to take revenge for sanctions by depriving millions of the world’s poorest of Ukraine’s agricultural bounty. President Zelensky rightly said that Russia uses the Black Sea blockade and consequent starvation as a “weapon.”

Given the scope of disruption, it is only natural to wonder what can be done. The answer is simple: help Ukraine win this war.

Originally published here