"The fear of losing French agriculture is the fear of losing our heritage, our land. It's the farmers that maintain our landscape and make France a country for tourism. When no farmers are left, when no cows are left, it will be much worse. (But) I think we're at a turning point in terms of awareness," Lenaerts continued, pointing to strong public support for the recent farmers' protests.

I find this whole conflict so completely bewildering. I don't even know what I'm supposed to be aware of. No one is saying that farmers should disappear. Hell, much of the vegan crowd is buying local and organic and paying a premium. Much of the vegan crowd is politically left and absolutely in support of small farmers rather than big corporations. It feels like a massive missunderstanding, between two groups that should be allies. I'm suspecting a disinformation campaign behind all this, but unfortunately, the disinformation is already out there.

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