Killer Slime, Dead Birds, an Expunged Map: The Dirty Secrets of European Farm Subsidies https://t.co/i89R4NuUX5 EU Agrarpolitik— paukstadt (@paukstadt) March 2, 2020
In the spring of 2017, a European Union working group of
environmentalists, academics and lobbyists was having a technical
discussion on green farming practices when a map appeared on an overhead
screen. In an instant, the room froze.
A farm lobbyist objected. Officials murmured their disapproval.
The map juxtaposed pollution in northern Italy with the European Union
subsidies paid to farmers in the region. The overlap was undeniable and
invited a fundamental question: Is the European Union financing the very
environmental problems it is trying to solve?
The map was expunged from the group’s final reports, those in attendance say. But using the European Union’s own economic models,
The New York Times created an approximation that confirms what European
officials did not want seen: The most heavily subsidized areas had the
worst pollution.
