30,000 show how fed up they are with industrial food

30,000 people from many backgrounds, ages and organisations met together in the Berlin winter sunshine to say, loudly and clearly, We Are Fed Up! The industrialised food system was the target of this colourful, carnival-style demo, which, while exhuberent, also aimed anger at what is happening to our food and our planet.

This video, by Francetv info, provides a peek into how it felt in the middle of the march. Seeds, TTIP, GM, factory farming, hunger, CAP reform and an array of issues around the industrialisation of agri-food were patricipants’ focus. Along with the 30,000 people, over 70 tractors were involved in the march, many festooned with banners, placards and other colourful material.

A great crew from Arc2020 took to the stage,  including Pavlos Georgiadis who gave a rousing, riveting speech about the situation in his home country Greece as well as what’s happening with the industrialisation of agri-food more generally. Photos from the ARC2020 team on stage, looking out at the view in the photo to the left, here.

The annual ‘We Are Fed Up!’ (Wir haben es satt! in German) demonstrations are a lively, exciting way of bringing together tens of thousands of likeminded individuals.  The event provides plenty of opportunities before and after the demonstration to share ideas and get inspired by projects and campaigns : in the days before the demo there was a ‘Street Food’ market at the Markthalle 9 dedicated to foods from the province of Brandenburg which surrounds Berlin, as well as a disco soup where people chopped veggies together to make soup for the next day.  Right after the demonstration, people headed over to the Heinrich Böll Stiftung, where the soup was served downstairs as people rested, chatted, and some even danced.

Moreover, the event is a great way to bring the issues outlined above to a wide audience.  Colleagues have picked up on the story across the world, including the IATP, and the event has been featured extensively in the press (links below).

“Our message today is clear: If the EU loses its small farmers and its family farms, then it loses its history, it loses its culture, it loses its identity; it would not exist anymore…”, Carlo Petrini, founder of the International Slow Food Movement said.  See here for a video of Petrini’s speech in front of the German Chancellory (in Italian and German).

More:

Oliver Moore on the Schnippeldisko 
Myrto Pispini’s feature for Greenpeace International
Peter Crosskey’s photo story from the weekend
Karen Hansen-Kuhn’s blog post for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
Friends of the Eart Hungary’s blog post (in Hungarian)

Photos:

From ARC2020 and Meine Landwirtschaft
From Green Friday
From Friends of the Earth Germany / BUND Bundesverand
From Slow Food

Press:

English language, international: 

Green week 2014: Anti-GMO and industrial farming protest in Berlin, Agri.EU
30,000 gather in Berlin to protest against intensive farming, EurActiv
30,000 people demanded better agriculture, LifePR
‘Fed up’ with big agriculture, Before It’s News
Green week 2014: Anti-GMO and industrial farming protest in Berlin, UkrAgroConsult

Germany:

Gegen Chlorhühnchen und Hormonfleisch, Süddeutsche Zeitung
Zehntausende demonstrieren in Berlin für Agrarwende
, Deutsche Welle
30.000 Menschen demonstrieren gegen Agrarpolitik, Die Welt
»Power to the Bauer!«, junge Welt
Grüne Woche: Zehntausende demonstrieren gegen die Agrarindustrie, Spiegel Online
Tausende bei Demo zur Grünen Woche in Berlin, Berliner Morgenpost
(video) Berlin: Mehrere zehntausend Menschen demonstrieren für Kurswechsel in Agrarpolitik, ARD Tagesschau
Demo in Berlin – Für mehr Tier- und Klimaschutz, BR Rundschau
Bio boomt – aber nicht auf deutschen Äckern, N24
Gegen Chlorhühnchen und HormonfleischZehntausende fordern Agrarwende, n-tv
Grüne Woche in Berlin Zehntausende Menschen auf der Straße, Berliner Zeitung
30.000 demonstrieren gegen Agrarpolitik, Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung
Alle Jahre wieder: Demo gegen die “Agrarindustrie”, topagrar
Proteste zur Grünen Woche – Minister für stärkere Landwirtschaft, Focus Online
30.000 Menschen demonstrieren für eine Agrarwende
, rbb
Demo mit 70 Treckern und 30.000 Menschen, RP Online
30.000 haben die Agrarindustrie satt, Neues Deutschland
Tausende demonstrieren gegen die Agrarindustrie, B.Z.
Stoppschild gegen Massentierhaltung, taz.de

France:

(Video) Des milliers de personnes manifestent à Berlin pour une agriculture plus écologique, Francetv info
Allemagne: 30.000 manifestants à Berlin pour une agriculture plus verte, Libération
Allemagne: 30.000 manifestants à Berlin pour une agriculture plus verte, Euronews
Berlin : 30.000 personnes manifestent pour une agriculture raisonnée, Orange

Poland:

Międzynarodowy protest rolników w Berlinie: „Nie” dla hormonów i antybiotyków!, Deutsche Welle

Switzerland:

30.000 Menschen fordern: Stoppt Agrarindustrie! / Die wachsende “Wir haben es satt!”-Bewegung demonstriert für eine bäuerliche und ökologischere Landwirtschaft und gutes Essen, Finanzen.ch
Rassemblement pour une agriculture verte, 20min

Belgium:

Manifestation monstre à Berlin, Le Vif

Italy:

Berlino in piazza contro le lobby del cibo, La Stampa

Bulgaria:

Десетки хиляди излязоха на протест в Берлин срещу индустриалното фермерство и против ГМО (СНИМКИ), fermer.bg

Russia:

Umweltschützer protestieren in Berlin, Radio Die Stimme Russlands

Luxemburg:

30.000 Menschen demonstrieren gegen Agrarpolitik, RTL.lu

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