Earth Equity News

Traditional Organic Farming in Poland Threatened by EU Laws. By Elisabeth Rosenthal, NYTimes, April 3, 2008. "Depending on your point of view, Szczepan Master is either an incorrigible Luddite or a visionary. A small farmer, proud of his pure, high-quality products, he works his land the way Polish farmers have for centuries. He keeps his livestock in a straw-floored 'barn' that is part of his house, entered through a kitchen door. He slaughters his own pigs. His wife milks cows by hand. He rejects genetically modified seeds. Instead of spraying his crops, he turns his fields in winter, preferring a workhorse to a tractor, to let the frost kill off pests residing there. While traditional farms like his could be dismissed as a nostalgic throwback, they are also increasingly seen as the future -- if only they can survive. Master's way of farming -- his way of life -- has been badly threatened in the two years since Poland joined the European Union, a victim of sanitary laws and mandates to encourage efficiency and competition that favor mechanized commercial farms, farmers here say."