What surprises me about this is that I do not seem to be hearing much about the European Union’s common agricultural policy (CAP). This policy, as it was explained to me at school, has its origins back in WW2, where most European nations were not self-sufficient on food and already dependent on imports. Then U-boats and navy blockades stopped all that and there were problems. The common agricultural policy was a deliberate policy of the EU to pay domestic farmers to produce food, even if the food ended up going to waste with no one eating it. This way when the next shock hit the domestic producers would still be going, regardless of international competition, as they were effectively supported by the state. The common agricultural policy is colossally expensive, in the Brexit referendum its cost was brought up by the leave campaign again and again. The war in Ukraine sounds like a situation where the good side of the CAP should shine bright. The EU’s subsidy-induced butter mountains (food overproduction) should now have people who want it. But I have not heard much about this, maybe its playing a role in the background. Or maybe the policy is just garbage at achieving its stated goal?
What surprises me about this is that I do not seem to be hearing much about the European Union’s common agricultural policy (CAP). This policy, as it was explained to me at school, has its origins back in WW2, where most European nations were not self-sufficient on food and already dependent on imports. Then U-boats and navy blockades stopped all that and there were problems. The common agricultural policy was a deliberate policy of the EU to pay domestic farmers to produce food, even if the food ended up going to waste with no one eating it. This way when the next shock hit the domestic producers would still be going, regardless of international competition, as they were effectively supported by the state. The common agricultural policy is colossally expensive, in the Brexit referendum its cost was brought up by the leave campaign again and again. The war in Ukraine sounds like a situation where the good side of the CAP should shine bright. The EU’s subsidy-induced butter mountains (food overproduction) should now have people who want it. But I have not heard much about this, maybe its playing a role in the background. Or maybe the policy is just garbage at achieving its stated goal?