A dairy farmer, Jean-Pierre Le Guelvout, once kept 66 cows at a thriving estate in southern Brittany. But falling milk prices, accumulating debts, depression and worries about his heath in middle age became too much to bear.
Just 46, Mr. Le Guelvout shot himself in the heart in a grove behind his house one cold December day last year. “It was a place that he loved, near the fields that he loved,” explained his sister Marie, who said she was “very close” to him but did not see his suicide coming.
The death of Ms. Le Guelvout’s brother was part of a quiet epidemic of suicide among French farmers with which stoical rural families, the authorities, public health officials and researchers are trying to grapple.
Farmers are particularly at risk, they all say, because of the nature of their work, which can be isolating, financially precarious and physically demanding.
For farmers who do not have children to help with the work and eventually take over, the burden is that much greater. Falling prices for milk and meat have also added to debts and stress in recent years.
Researchers and farming organizations agree that the problem has persisted for years, but while they have stepped up efforts to help farmers, the effectiveness of such measures and the toll from suicides remain difficult to quantify.
The most recent statistics, made public in 2016 by France’s public health institute, show that 985 farmers killed themselves from 2007 to 2011 — a suicide rate 22 percent higher than that of the general population.
It is difficult for anyone to live in a world for which their psychology is not designed. I’ve always thought it ironic that the stress for K’s living in a world run by r-rules would be much higher than for the r’s. You would think minds designed for shortage would be great in a world of plenty, but it isn’t so. Things which you are programmed to think should matter don’t, and things you would dismiss are exactly how you succeed.
This farmer busted his ass from sun up to sun down, providing a valuable product people need, and he was sinking into debt. His brain couldn’t compute what was going on, or transition to attention-whoring as a boutique brand to increase his income.
Meanwhile Kim Kardashian laid out naked on a bed letting a guy pee all over her, and then let the video be posted on the internet, and now she makes $51 million dollars a year. I searched for the link on that (it is buried at startpage), and saw one summary for a page which commented on how sharp-eyed viewers of her sex tape would have noted specific things about her vagina, and another which said her mom shot the sex/pee video, wasn’t happy with the first cut, and made her shoot it again. Literally, she will become a billionaire, just off antics like that, as the farmer above starves. This is r-selection. Different rules.
The rules are different now, most K’s just aren’t adapted, and many of them can’t make any adjustments because they do not even understand how the rules have changed.
The thing is, change is coming again, and the world will make sense soon.
Just hang in there.
As an american i cut you some slack here cause you haven’t experienced how it is when you pay 40 to 50% more for your foodstuffs cause its the price for subsidized agrarculture, and france has the biggest agrarcultural economy in europe. And milk prices are over inflated already. There are like demonstrations every few months where these farmers/peasants block roads and dump their cow shit in front of supermarkets to protest against the low prices, that exist in the first place because the dairy industry was build on subsidies. These guys killing themselfs isn’t sad, its a good thing. Don’t tell me about the virtue of busting your ass for a product that no one wants, cause europe isn’t america with its puritan work ethic that work in itself has value. If you bust your ass day to day and you don’t make enough money you are not some good virtuouse hard worker, youre an idiot. And idiots need to go. No one values hard work in europe, the whole point of german engineering for example is to get rid of hard work.
There was a big suicide wave when telecom france got privatized cause these guys rather killed themselfs then find work in the private sector.
This isn’t sad. This is natural selection. France is a failed nation, a failed cultur. Just let it die.
I was going to comment, but I couldn’t put it any better than Andy.
France is particularly vulnerable to a real full-blown collapse in the years ahead, due to its restrictive labour laws and generous (and unaffordable) welfare system.
Add in a very progressive mindset, no faith in God, and a load of starving immigrants, and you have the perfect recipe for serious trouble.
Serves them right, God will judge them for centuries of evil.
How much does the prices of food and milk have to do with the Russian embargo?
Nothing. Russia has a smaller economy then the State of New York or the Neatherlands. I wanted to boycott russian goods when they invaded ukraine, but i couldn’t find any. Meanwhile the russian government destroys polish apples and ham to show off how little they need everyone else.
Interesting.
I remember this video on Polish farmers dumping food https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jr_HLVVPIQ
and this from the French
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/03/angry-french-farmers-hold-tractor-protest-in-paris
“A combination of factors, including changing dietary habits, slowing Chinese demand and a Russian embargo on western products in response to sanctions over the Ukraine conflict, has pushed down prices for beef, pork and milk.”
Boycott. I wonder if you boycotted any other country for aggression? or just Russia for Crimea
I honestly don’t care about Crimea since it is mostly a Russian speaking state that was a part of Russia for about 150 years. It would be like if the USA split into a few states. Later back on it’s feet and a bunch of English speaking people in Texas wanted to join the Union but the UN is stopping them. So the USA invades and take back Texas.
Turkey invaded Cyprus 1974 no action by US or EU. US invades Iraq 2003 but I bet it is your team so it doesn’t matter
AC: Look up the Common Agricultural Policy. Every French farmer is a welfare bum, without fail. Hopelessly subsidized, primarily by the Brits, and demanding to be kept in riches by taxation on other people, these farmers, as Andy says above, are not to be pitied. Europe has never been like America. Every producer block is a rent-seeking block and government has always catered to every block that has any political clout at all. That is why there is no future in Europe for young Europeans, and never has been going back to the post-war years. The European elite are corrupt in their souls, or, rather, I should say, mediocrities in elite positions, because there is nothing elite intellectually or morally about Europe’s “leaders.”
Interesting. So the government subsidized, the free resources led to over production, and the whole market is screwed. Got it.
Still a screwed up world if you are a K who thinks the world is so simple you can just produce a quality product and succeed.