Unusual Sight in European Cities: Throngs of Tractors

The rice used in Spanish paella, the country's national dish, is at risk of disappearing, growers warn, amid widespread protests against European Union environmental regulations, including the banning of a fungicide. Tricyclazole was used to fight fungus appearing on bomba rice grown in Spain's wetlands for 40 years, up until 2018, when the EU ruled it was harmful to human health. Though rice farmers are still permitted to use other fungicides, they say the absence of tricyclazole has taken a toll. Three producers in the Valencia region say their bomba rice harvest "was half the 10-year average in 2023 as a result of the Pyricularia fungus, which causes rice blast disease," per Reuters. Bomba rice "is very likely to disappear ... lost to regulations," one farmer tells the outlet.

In Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Bulgaria, and other European countries, farmers have taken to the streets in recent weeks—burning hay bales and blocking highways with tractors—to protest regulations they say put them at a disadvantage compared to foreign growers and ultimately risk food production in the 27-nation bloc. One particular thorn: The EU still allows imports of food with small traces of tricyclazole. Policy leaders say the low levels mean the products are safe for consumption. But this all suggests "one set of rules for Europe and another for those producing outside," Emilio Gonzalez, an agronomical engineer at the University of Cordoba, tells Reuters.

Farmers, also suffering under drought and higher production costs, have put up such a stink that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday shelved a proposed 50% cut in the use of pesticides and other hazardous substances by 2030, per NPR. The proposal "has become a symbol of polarization," von der Leyen told the European Parliament. "Farmers need a worthwhile business case for nature-enhancing measures. Perhaps we have not made that case convincingly," she added, calling for "more dialogue." Christiane Lambert, head of the European farmers' lobby COPA-COGECA, said the commission was "finally acknowledging that the approach was not the right one," per the BBC. Farmers plan to continue their protests in any case. (More European Union stories.)