Eurasia Press & News
We want to know what we are eating. The food scandal surrounding the import of Ukrainian grain could be summed up in these few words. Slovakia does not need it, it has enough of its own, but Ukraine, which is in a state of war, has to export it as soon as possible. Wheat is, together with sunflower, its most important agricultural export commodity.
It is clear why Slovak processors have become obsessed with Ukrainian grain. After the war more than doubled wheat prices, they needed cheaper flour. It was only a matter of time before the grain appeared in Slovak mills. But there is one hell of a catch: Ukraine, a hot candidate for joining the European Union, which has been given a free card in the export of agricultural products, does not look so strictly at the rules for chemical protective preparations. And one of them appeared in the wheat that was ground by the now well-known Slovak mill.
Strict controls last two weeks in Slovakia. One might ask, why didn’t we launch them sooner? Those in charge assure that everything is (so far) fine, but not only grain, but also flour is being sampled. What else will he shoot?
After all, we had to know about the conditions prevailing in Ukraine, and not only us, but also in Brussels, from the moment when agribusiness was completely relaxed in an effort to help the country. Slovakia had reservations about the import of Ukrainian poultry before. What did we rely on?
It is one thing to create a solidarity corridor, to send grain to the inhabitants of starving countries, and another to watch how this goal is not fulfilled and solidarity is abused for profitable business. The question of health safety is particularly spicy. Everyone is sensitive to that, not only in Europe, Slovakia, but also in Africa. Even there, they want to eat and live healthy, hunger does not mean that they have to eat everything. How much true solidarity and how much greed is hidden in one tiny grain?
