Portugal's farmers reducing herds due to spiralling cost of feed

Natasha Donn
Portugal Resident
Fri, 05 Aug 2022 12:00 UTC

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The combination of extreme drought and the spiralling cost of feed has put Portugal's livestock producers in a desperate situation. Many are shutting down operations altogether, others are drastically 'cutting back on heads of cattle' - meaning animals are being killed because their owners simply cannot afford to feed them. The costs of this drastic reduction "will reflect on consumers" eventually, explain reports, as the cost of meat will increase further than it already has.

Comment: It's times like these where governments are supposed to intervene and provide assistance to farmers, however, as we've seen across much of the West, at best farmers are left to suffer the consequences of disastrous government policy, and at worst are being intentionally driven from their land with the intent to use this partly manufactured crisis to further a nefarious agenda.

Meanwhile in China, as early as June 2021, on seeing the rising costs of commodities (and likely expecting much worse to come), their government provided its farmers with billions in additional subsidies, ithas also ensured it has at least a years worth of certain produce to keep its citizens going when there are shortages; and that much is inevitable, for some products it's already happening.

And over in Russia, one of the world's largest grain producers, it has been at the forefront of the efforts to distribute desperately needed grain and fertilizers, both to its people and those in need across the planet.

At some point soon enough the West's attack on the already strained food supply will lead to unbearable conditions and there will be devastating consequences both for the world's poorest countries, as well citizens in the West who let their leaders get away with it:

• Ireland's gov't takes aim at its farmers threatening '30% carbon cut' that will force farmers to reduce herds
• Portugal on brink of food emergency, 30% increase in prices expected within days, food bank fear total collapse of system
• Amidst Ukraine-Russia grain deal, US inserts itself into diplomatic efforts claiming it wants to help facilitate exports