Tens of thousands of farmers protested a major agriculture business conference in Italy this week, rallying against what they argue is alleged inauthentic product labelling by the EU.
Italy's largest farming organisation, Coldiretti Farmers, which represents over 70,000 workers, spearheaded the #NoFakeInItaly action on Monday.
Coldiretti national president Ettore Prandini said is it "crucial" to raise awareness within the European institutions of the situation in Italy, in light of the European elections this June, about "all the issues of fundamental importance to the agricultural world such as reciprocity."
According to organisers, the demonstration aimed to highlight certain goods made outside of Italy that benefit from Italian branding. Prandini said consumers and farmers deserve "respect and transparency" regarding the items they buy from the grocer.
European farmers livid
The action is the most recent agricultural protest in the EU, but not the most controversial. Last week roughly 900 tractors and farmers protested in Belgium – the heart of European law making.
Police officers were forced to dodge liquid manure, eggs and flares, pelted by farmers angry over red tape and competition from cheap imports from countries where the EU’s relatively high standards do not have to be met.
The farming protests first started in Berlin late last year when the Bundestag approved cuts to fuel subsidies.
The traffic light coalition, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s, attempted to claw back spending as a means of meeting a budget shortfall imposed after an explosive federal court ruling which found it was unconstitutional to repurpose funds.
