For me, to be involved against globalisation means to stand up for another world politics. The point of departure is the inclusion of agriculture in the GATT negotiations. As farmers, as members of a trade union, it has become clear to us that the inner logic of agriculture, which has already existed for millions of years, to feed people where they really live, will be destroyed by the inclusion of agriculture in the negotiations of the World Trade Organisation. For me that is the starting point, a kind of break in human history. This is not a problem of the twentieth century; it’s the first stage of an irrevocable disturbance in the survival of humanity on our planet.
 
José Bové, farmer, activist and trade unionist, born 1953, France
José Bové is one of the most internationally recognised critics of globalisation. He is a co-founder and international speaker of the left-alternative farmers’ trade union Confédération Paysanne, which was founded in 1987. Bové’s involvement began more than 30 years ago. With spectacularly effective public actions that he has initiated and supported throughout the world since then, the sheep breeder and producer of Roquefort cheese has become world renowned. One of his most spectacular actions was the destruction of a McDonald’s branch, by which he, in 1999, together with countless sympathisers, protested against the industrialisation of food products and the United States import customs tax on French cheeses.