Canadian farmers are pushing back against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to reduce fertilizer use in the name of climate change.
Demonstrators turned out over the weekend after he said he is forging ahead with a plan to cut nitrogen emissions by 30 percent. Farmers say that cannot be done without reducing fertilizer use. Provincial ag ministers are expressing frustration, saying the world is looking to Canada to increase production amid a global shortage.
The Trudeau government demands a reduction in emissions, which farmers say will mean less food being produced at a dire time.
Federal Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau called the target “ambitious,” but says it is one that farmers will embrace.
“I’m meeting with many farmers in the field. I know how much they care for the environment and how much they invest in new practices and new technologies to reduce their emissions as much as possible. The idea is to produce the most sustainable food in the world,” says Bibeau.
Similar plans have resulted in mass protests, particularly in the Netherlands.
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