A draft resolution by Polish Green MEP Dr. Sylwia Spurek to restrict the location of livestock farming away from residential areas has been scoffed at as being “full of nonsense” by a French parliamentary colleague in a catty exchange of emails.
Spurek, a socialist turned Green MEP who specialises in animal welfare, called for EU citizens to be protected against the bad odours and the negative health impacts caused by animal farming in a resolution asking the European Commission to take legislative action against farms located adjacent to homes.
In emails seen by The European Conservative, French Renew MEP Jérémy Decerle openly rebuked her proposals as hilarious due to how ridiculous the suggestions were. A major proponent of animal farming against green overregulation, Decerle thanked Spurek for brightening up an otherwise dull day with her outlandish proposals saying that the Polish parliamentarian had no understanding of rural life.
In the European Parliament, draft resolutions are non-binding proposals put forward by MEPs on various topics of concern or importance expressing the Parliament’s position or opinion on specific issues.
The resolution, if passed, would see the EU acknowledge the right of citizens to live free from the day-to-day smells of animal farming and was drafted by Spurek in conjunction with multiple animal welfare NGOs.
The proposals would represent a major bureaucratic expansion of powers in the realm of farming, already burdened by EU diktats on nitrogen emissions triggering a wave of political instability in the Netherlands in recent years.
Speaking to The European Conservative, Spurek defended her suggestions against ridicule by referring to a previous study she published on the matter. Spurek also compared her proposals to recent efforts by the EU to decarbonise and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. The Green MEP is one of the chamber’s loudest anti-meat voices.
We need to have courage to say how animal farming affects our life, our health, environment, for our planet. This is just the beginning of the debate on this. Many years ago we started the debate on fossil fuels and at the beginning of the debate there were emotions and controversies. Today nobody questions the need to transform the energy sector. MEPs must listen to scientists instead of Big Milk and Big Meat.
The co-founder of Poland’s first vegan think tank, Spurek has taken a hardline against animal-based food production in her parliamentary career. Her attempts to marginalise meat eating have been referred to as “fanatical” by some commentators. A militant vegan herself, Spurek has previously advocated for the Polish government to end the policy of giving out free milk to schoolchildren and has called on the end of the state promotion of animal-based foodstuffs.
Unlikely to be actioned anytime soon, the spat comes amid growing pressure on the EU’s flagship ‘Farm to Fork’ policies with accusations that the bloc is prioritising green dogma over Europe’s food security.
Defenders of current livestock practices say that the EU’s green agenda is an unwelcomed form of social engineering, compounded by the growing prominence of ‘degrowth’ ideology posing a potentially lethal challenge to an industry already hard-pressed by globalisation and the impact of the war in Ukraine—with edible insects featuring on the menu in the runup to Polish elections.
