Farmers protests across Europe seized headlines and hijacked the political agenda. But once the action moved from the streets to the negotiating table, who spoke for them? We profile power brokers claiming to represent farmers www.lighthousereports.com/investigatio...
Angry farmers seized the political agenda across Europe but how many of their actual demands reached the negotiating table? We profile the power brokers who turned protests to their advantage
Thanks to the team who worked on this Marianne Kerfriden, Elena DeBre, Thin Lei Win, Julie Lallouët-Geffroy, Tessa Pang and Emmanuel Freudenthal. Stay tuned for more stories coming out over the next week!
Another FNSEA leader, André Sergent, held 10 positions of power, including chairing Brittany’s Chamber of agriculture, despite being convicted for mismanaging its finances in 2019, and pollution incidents linked to his methanisation business. embed.kumu.io/339c1b926bd0...
A Kumu Project.
The investigation found Brittany FNSEA strongman Thierry Coué held 18 positions, many regulating the agricultural sector. This includes being a board member of an institution regulating pesticides and overseeing a farming magazine. embed.kumu.io/d7ddb3ef3eda...
A Kumu Project.
In France, we partnered with @splann.bsky.social to examine leaders of the FNSEA – the dominant union in French farming. They hold positions spanning from public health to environmental policy and agricultural press, which, our interviews suggest, stifles democratic representation.
With the EU elections coming and farming topping the agenda for many candidates, we looked at 4 of Europe’s agricultural powerhouses: France, Germany, Poland and Italy. Stories will be published over the next week.
Our findings reveal that a small circle of individuals, far removed from the average farmer, dominate the conversation. They own significantly more land, hold influential positions in Big Ag, and even have stakes in media outlets catering to farmers.