Conservatives in America tend to misunderstand the European mindset regarding political parties and the “ends” that European institutions seek to achieve. It’s no fault of their own; our closest example of Western European-style Parliamentary politics is Canada. But when reports come out talking about European farmers protesting in Brussels, it’s confusing to see that this is solely over a free-trade deal — one that the European Union’s Left and Right brokered and negotiated for. Americans, farmers and urbanites alike, need to be aware of the Western bureaucracy’s slow march toward outsourcing its domestic workforce.
After 26 years of negotiations, the European Union signed the EU-Mercosur Deal this month. This deal aims to open the meat market between Europe and the Mercosur countries: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia. But the EU Commission postponed initial signing in December, following massive protests in the streets of Brussels. Throwing eggs and potatoes, blocking the roads with tractors, and clashing with police, farmers from Spain to Poland rallied in solidarity to fight this deal from being finalized — but alas, the undemocratic EU bureaucrats won.
The EU achieved its pan-European unification, but it did so by targeting European agriculture. Both Giorgia Meloni and Emanuel Macron (diametrically opposed politicians) came out in support of farmers, pushing back against the Mercosur deal as harmful to their countries’ agricultural economies. Why this unity from two often-opposed politicians? By importing foreign meat, European farmers fear that South American imports will flood the market, driving down prices and decimating their livelihoods. Yet the Commission persisted in pushing this deal through, despite farmers in the streets waving flags reading “No Farmers, No Food!”
This is not the first time such agitations occurred, either; in 2023, the Dutch saw something similar when farmers protested in the streets of Amsterdam. This resulted in the Farmer-Citizen Movement Party taking a large majority in the Dutch Parliament, which fought against EU and Dutch regulations targeting nitrogen emissions from dairy farms. The EU Commission has since doubled down, releasing its 2025-2035 Agricultural Outlook and stating that stricter national policies will be needed to “reduce nitrogen emissions or greenhouse gas emissions,” effectively admitting they aim to reduce agricultural output and shut down more farms.
This has become a pattern for the EU: being outspoken about its commitments to “democracy,” while relying on its bureaucratic arms to coerce its citizens. Farmers are just the first people to protest on such a large scale. Americans would do well to pay attention to the creeping bureaucratic tyranny that Europeans are warning about: Who gets the final say, farmers or the bureaucratic managers?
We, as Americans, might think that the Atlantic Ocean separates us from the overreach that Europeans face, but we’re certainly not immune. In fact, a 175-year-old farm in Cranbury Township, New Jersey, was the center of a nationwide fight between the federal and local governments. The Henry Family Farm faced eminent domain from the New Jersey township to be rezoned for high-density housing and industry, resulting in a year-long battle that finally concluded with the farm being left alone. But regardless of this outcome, eminent domain was invoked, opening the door of threatening farmers’ way of life if the bureaucrats prefer.
Between corporate farms and government bureaucracy, family farms are struggling to keep their farmland while also fighting off any attempts at seizure. As it stands today, roughly 85% of farmers are part-time and have extra jobs. While that is a massive accomplishment which reflects the innovation and efficiency that agriculture has achieved, it’s no wonder that the past two Agriculture Secretaries have raised concerns that family farms and small farms are at risk of being swallowed up — especially as 2025’s farm bankruptcies have exceeded 2024’s level.
The slow march toward bureaucratic dominance is on the move, and 2026 could be another surge in farming bankruptcies, regulatory squeeze, and corporate buyouts — but it’s not as grim considering the shift that’s occurring in America regarding health and wellness.
As Gen Z begins entering the workforce and building their careers, they are conscious of the labels they read on the food they consume. The Make America Healthy Again movement raised awareness of processed foods, food dyes, seed oils, pesticide levels, and the nutritional density of whole foods.
Gen Z’s commitment to quality and willingness to pay for it is, ironically, a rejection of the corporate and political status quo in America, a revolutionary one at that. It’s disheartening to see that the breakdown in public trust of our state and federal institutions is a result of the government failing its people.
But Americans are beginning to notice what’s on food labels, question the chemicals in the water, and reject the sedentary lifestyle handed to them — while caring about the American farmers who supply the food they put on our tables. Some of the American Founders were farmers, and their ability to cultivate the land should be admired in the men and women who toil the fields today — it cannot be dictated by DC or bought out by bloated corporations who water down the food to make it fast, cheap, and easy.
European farmers protesting in Brussels know that their labor feeds the entire continent, which is why they are as impassioned to rally in the streets. In contrast, American farm policy has largely remained unaltered since the FDR era, proving that presidential administrations since the 1940s have not given agriculture the attention that it so desperately needs. But the food system is the backbone of America — and people are increasingly recognizing that. There’s hope for the future as we see the “crunchy” movement gain more traction, as a healthy body creates a healthy mind, fueling individuals who say “absolutely not” to the all-consuming nanny state.
