He said there were 80 different events across Europe to mark the International Day of Peasant Struggle. He also analyzed the main issues that the peasant movement has brought up and he said “we have won some victories” before the public opinion, as in the case of GMOs. Nearly 80 per cent of the European consumers currently reject genetically modified food, fifteen years since the peasant and environmentalist movements have been exposing its dangers, says Paul.

Another important victory is the permanent reduction of the area destined to plant GM crops in Europe. “In Spain, for instance, the area destined to GM plantations was reduced in 15%”, he said.

Among the victories Nicholson mentioned several campaigns to stop violence against women, the efforts to have a United Nations conference on peasant rights and the Right to Food, and the denunciation of land grabbing. About the latter, Nicholson described the World Bank’s manual of “good practice” for the purchase of lands by corporations and states as “legal fraud”.