Episode 133: Helen Freeman on Britain's Farmer Protests

In recent months, Britain, like Europe, has seen farmers take to the streets in their thousands to protest against changes in the law that they say will make their jobs harder, undermine food security, and possibly even close them down. Britain has proposed a change to inheritance tax that would affect 25% of the country’s farms and could result in many farms being parcelled off or even sold entirely. The EU has a clear plan to “restore” 20% of its land and sea, albeit subject to an “emergency brake” that would place reductions on hold at the national level “under exceptional circumstances if they severely reduce the land needed for sufficient food production for EU consumption”.Are these necessary steps to protect the environment, or the final nail in the coffin for national food security? Could it be both? Helen Freeman joins me to get into these questions, and more. Helen works for Farms Not Factories, an NGO campaigning to end factory farming in the UK. She is also a farmer with a high welfare free range herd of Saddleback pigs. You can find her writing on Substack and follow her on Instagram.In our conversation we make reference to her article The Price of Protest, about the 10 February 2025 farmer protest in London.I hope you enjoy it.1984today.substack.com1984.today@1984TodayPod This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1984today.substack.com