We Are Fed up! Bridging Rural-Urban Divides for Agrarian and Food Change in Germany

Since 2011, the street protest “Wir haben es satt!” (We are fed up!) has demanded food and agrarian change in Germany. Organized by a coalition of peasant and organic farmers, environmentalist and human rights movements, and development organizations, it bridges important divides in agri-food politics, not least the rural-urban one. Drawing on participant observation, interviews with leaders, documents and visual materials, this article reconstructs the relationship between state and society at the core of these protests, analyzing achievements; areas of conflict; the incorporation of food justice, gender and racial justice agendas; and the challenge of broadening its agrarian basis while keeping a distance from right-wing populism. Beyond the food and agrarian system, the coalition’s alliances with new organizations could expand its impact to issues like climate change, racism, sexism, and right-wing populism. Although structural inequalities and other challenges will not be solved through agrarian policies alone, these alliances can aid in the demand for a stronger democracy and a fairer society. Finally, as seen here, in order for agrarian-urban coalitions to have a progressive political impact, they must not only mobilize the working classes but also address other axis of inequality and engage, among others, with racial justice, decolonial justice, and gender justice.