News in brief: Greenpeace activists protested against industrial and factory farming activities in France by depositing green algae outside the French Government Headquarters. They called for an end to the construction of cattle farms, demanding ecological and sustainable farming practices to reduce pollution, eliminate harmful chemicals and antibiotics, and promote biodiversity in Brittany.
Greenpeace activists in France discarded kilogrammes of green algae outside the French Government Headquarters, Finistere, earlier this week. The move is to protest the industrial and factory farming activities, leading to âalarmingâ amounts of green alga over the coast of Brittany. Protesters unfurled banners to raise awareness about the activities, while demanding change.
Factory farming, a highly intensive method of rearing animals that involves confining them indoors under strict conditions, has been on the rise in France. For years, there has been discussions on its dangers.
According to 2023 data, Greenpeace said that these producers were raising 60% (about 200 million) of all France production animals in just 3% of the farmland in the country. The numbers are even alarming when you consider that 70% of these animals are in 9% of the territory in Brittany Pays de Loire areas.
The group is convinced that the government bears responsibility for the situation. They posit that the proliferation of cattle farms is a result of governmentâs negligence and they want to stop the construction of more cattle farms in the region. Although, in recent times, the government have made moves to crackdown on this kind of intensive farming in the country.
Greenpeace has also called on France to embrace more ecological and sustainable farming practices in Brittany. Their list of demands includes pollution reduction, zero use of harmful chemical and antibiotics, and biodiversity promotion.
The group of activists is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Their goal is to “ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity”. Their campaigns focus on worldwide issues such as climate change, deforestation, overfishing, commercial whaling, genetic engineering, and anti-nuclear issues.
