A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #369 - Ecology - Agriculture: Reversing the Blame, Putting Agribusiness on Trial (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

With capitalism, the predatory model of agribusiness has been dominant 
in Brittany since the mid-20th century, to the detriment of agricultural 
cooperatives and farming itself. While voices are being raised in 
Lorient, repression, as always, is being unleashed on those who denounce 
the exploitative conditions of the land and the workers. On December 15, 
2025, in Lorient, the trial of 12 people arrested in March 2022 
following an act of civil disobedience targeting agribusiness, claimed 
by the Brittany Against Factory Farms collective, took place. The 
debates during the hearing and the mobilizations have brought the role 
of this inequitable system back into sharp focus.

In the 19th century, during the rapid expansion of industrial 
capitalism, regional specialization of agricultural production was 
implemented to supply the proletariat that was congregating in and 
around large cities, particularly Paris. Agricultural areas closest to 
the capital experienced rapid development, such as Normandy and the 
Beauce region. More distant regions, like Brittany, had more limited 
access to national markets. The mixed crop-livestock farming model 
prevalent at the time, which was environmentally friendly, was generally 
maintained in Brittany until the 1950s to 1970s, depending on the area, 
while rural exodus was at its peak. The use of chemical fertilizers, 
which appeared in the 1920s, was limited due to its cost.

France is the third largest pork producer in Europe, with approximately 
9,500 farms raising more than 300 pigs (99% of French production). The 
Brittany region accounts for 57% of the country's pork production.

France is the third largest pork producer in Europe, with approximately 
9,500 farms raising more than 300 pigs (99% of French production). The 
Brittany region accounts for 57% of the country's pork production.

Credits: Vannes Museum of Fine Arts
After the Second World War, the Marshall Plan released funds to develop 
mechanization and the use of chemical inputs in order to increase 
agricultural productivity. In Brittany, a land of hedgerows and rolling 
hills, the introduction of these innovations was particularly hampered 
by the size of the fields and farms. This period also saw land 
consolidation, the merging of land accompanied by the destruction of 
hedgerows and embankments. It was later and more abrupt than elsewhere, 
and, like mechanization, contributed to the disappearance of smaller, 
less competitive farms and to the overall expansion of farms. This 
movement was accompanied by recruitment in factories on the outskirts of 
cities, such as Rennes, and the resale of land subdivided for 
consolidation in exchange for a promise of job and income security from 
employers.

From agricultural cooperatives to integrated farming: Farmers were 
active participants in these changes, either through their resistance to 
the advent of this new model (resistance sometimes tinged with 
reactionary ideas), or by organizing themselves into cooperatives to 
jointly purchase equipment and inputs, and to collect and sell their 
produce. Cooperatives were created and developed in conjunction with 
agricultural unions and, in the case of the largest, have become 
multinational agribusinesses. In Brittany, this led to the development 
of intensive pig and poultry farming. This marked the beginning of 
integrated agriculture, where all inputs are supplied by the 
cooperative, which obtains the necessary loans from banks and also 
purchases the produce. Farmers who adopt this model consequently 
experience a significant loss of autonomy, both in terms of production 
choices and methods, and in setting prices. Driven by the substantial 
investments required to remain competitive in an increasingly globalized 
market, cooperatives are becoming increasingly financialized and 
merging, losing all democratic character to leaders with one foot in 
agriculture and the other in the agribusiness industry. From this 
process emerged the Breton agribusiness giants Eureden and Cooperl.

To maintain competitiveness on international markets, in the face of 
heavily subsidized agriculture in the United States, aid programs were 
established at the European level through the Common Agricultural Policy 
(CAP) starting in 1962. Initially guaranteeing minimum prices for 
agricultural products, the CAP has since 1992 evolved towards subsidies 
paid according to the number of hectares, thus favoring the largest 
farms. This situation persists and is intensifying, promoting 
ever-larger farms and consolidating power through land grabbing by a 
few. Brittany is currently the region of France with the highest number 
of factory farms, according to a 2023 study[1].

A destructive model preserved by capitalism
The harmful consequences of the agro-industrial development model are 
clearly visible and now documented worldwide. Brittany is no exception: 
green tides and the suffocation of waterways linked to nitrates from 
concentrated livestock farming, particularly pig farming; the impact of 
pesticide pollution on biodiversity and human health; soil erosion due 
to the enlargement of fields and mechanization; the emergence of 
zoonoses (diseases transmitted between animals and humans); the 
concentration of wealth in the hands of a minority driven by 
productivism and increased dependence on the financial sector... While 
this issue is beginning to gain visibility locally, particularly 
following the green algae scandal, collective reactions remain weakened 
by the opacity and entrenchment of this system, as well as by the 
powerful lobbying of agribusiness with the government.

Paradoxically, the first warnings, which emerged as early as the 1970s, 
were often raised by groups historically not very involved in radical 
ecological practices. One example is the creation of the association Eau 
et rivières de Bretagne (Water and Rivers of Brittany), which began as a 
fishing association observing the disappearance of salmon in certain 
waterways. It gradually transformed into a citizens' association 
attempting to lobby for the preservation of water resources in the 
region and participates more broadly in environmental mobilizations. 
Another important environmental association is Bretagne vivante (Living 
Brittany), successor to the Société pour l'étude et la protection de la 
nature en Bretagne (Society for the Study and Protection of Nature in 
Brittany), founded in 1959. More recently, in 2020, the Morbihan 
collective against factory farms was created, unique in that it also 
includes local farmers and residents mobilized against intensive 
livestock farming projects.

Resist to denounce!

This group claimed responsibility for the March 2022 action, during 
which around fifty activists blocked a grain convoy bound for an animal 
feed factory run by the Le Gouessant cooperative, believing they were 
targeting the Sanders group. Once the convoy was blocked, the grain was 
dumped onto the tracks, a wall was built across the rails, and a banner 
was hung with the message, "Agribusiness is leading us straight into a 
wall." This act of civil disobedience, symbolic in nature, triggered a 
strong and immediate crackdown. Searches, bans on demonstrations, and 
placement under judicial supervision were all part of the response. 
While the Le Gouessant cooperative and the SNCF, which manages the 
railway line, unsurprisingly joined the case as civil parties, the 
National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA), a reactionary, 
co-managing agricultural union, also participated in the trial. Indeed, 
their support for agribusiness has existed for over 70 years, its 
members being directly responsible for the numerous cooperatives that 
have become profitable multinationals serving intensive agriculture. 
FNSEA executives, under the guise of supporting farmers' work, are 
orchestrating their impoverishment and their dependence on the 
subsidiaries they manage, all in the pursuit of ever-increasing profits. 
It is also interesting to note that the regional branch of this union 
described the event as a "scandalous action" and "against the public 
interest," while the FNSEA regularly organizes actions that cause far 
more material damage, as was pointed out during the trial. Their vision 
of a justice system with double standards clearly illustrates their 
desire to silence any act of resistance against an agricultural system 
they manage and which benefits only them.

Although the harmful effects of agribusiness are widely known and 
acknowledged, it is environmental activists who are being targeted by 
the justice system.

Although the harmful effects of agribusiness are widely known and 
acknowledged, it is environmental activists who are being targeted by 
the justice system.

Credits: UCL Lorient

The trial held in Lorient therefore carries significant symbolic 
importance, having placed at the heart of the debates throughout the 
closing arguments not the individual responsibility of the accused, but 
rather that of agribusiness. Of the twelve defendants, seven received 
convictions and were fined nearly EUR200,000 in collective penalties, 
while five were acquitted. Faced with the ecological emergency, let us 
give them the necessary support to denounce this predatory system of 
resource exploitation that only benefits capitalists! Brittany Against 
Factory Farms is organizing a fundraiser to finance legal fees: find out 
more on their website![2]

Florence and Eric (UCL Lorient)

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[1]See the 2023 Greenpeace study based on figures from the Ministry of 
Ecological Transition.

[2]https://bretagne-contre-les-fermes-usines.fr/collecte-de-fonds-pour-gagner-en-justice-face-a-letat-et-ses-complices/

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Agriculture-Inverser-la-culpabilite-faire-le-proces-de-l-agro-industrie
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