After the “punching” actions of the week carried out by certain agricultural unions in Gironde, the Young Farmers favored education this weekend. This Saturday, they organized an awareness-raising operation in the Super U of Sauveterre-de-Guyenne in Entre-Deux-Mers.
No question of blocking despite two tractors installed in front of the store, it was above all a time for exchanges with consumers around a good coffee and some French cold meats and cheeses at the entrance. You could also find leaflets or a small piggy bank there.
This action has several objectives. The first is not trivial after a very tense week: “They need to feel people’s support and show that they are not thugs,” explains Renaud after a few minutes of discussions with the farmers. And l'imThe age of the latter is far from being diminished, we must still be careful because the sinews of war are also public opinion** as Lucas Berthomieu of Jeunes Agriculteurs points out: “We, without the population, we are nothing. Without consumers, we are nothing!”
“There is no taboo subject for us!”
“The goal is not to only carry out “striking” actions! We cannot be in one-upmanship, in a race for shallots. We are also here to explain our actions and make people aware of buy French, especially as the end-of-year holidays approach, and we decided to do it here because these are stores that are trying to play the game with us.” continues Thomas, winegrower and breeder in Courpiac.
Indeed, teaching is the other objective of the day. And for that, you also need to know how to listen according to this farmer: “It's always interesting to get feedback from people. It happens that people come to us to tell us why this product is too expensive? Why can't I find this one? You have to explain and also sometimes adapt your way to eat. And sometimes, it can be very direct with questions about the use of certain pesticides, but there is no taboo subject for us.”
In any case for Claire, who has just finished her shopping, everyone must stick together otherwise the future looks very bleak: “Our territory is dying and it’s clearly snowballing. Viticulture here represents a large part of the territory’s economic activity so it will inevitably have consequences for many people.” It is therefore not time to give up on farmers and it does not matter what actions they take in Gironde.
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