Putin’s response to banned food imports

World Today

AFP | Bryansk, Russia | August 7, 2015

Media from around the world have reported on Russia’s newly extended food import ban. This week it was revealed that the Russian government ordered massive amounts of illegally imported food be destroyed. And cameras were there to capture some of it.

Here’s a look at some of the reports posted on YouTube by the media, including reports from CCTV and the Russian state sponsored network RT, showing food being destroyed.

RT (Russia Today) reporter Anissa Naouai tweeted this message speaking out against the actions taken by the Russian government:

In July Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree banning food products brought in from the European Union and some other Western countries that violate an already existing food import embargo. Since then there have been other countries added to the list. Days later, in what seemed to be a hot-headed and irrational move, the cabinet decided that they would order any food deemed illegal under that embargo be destroyed by any means necessary.

It was reported by Russian media that Russia ‘debated’ distributing the confiscated food to people in need, showing that Russia acknowledges destroying food when there are people in country who could benefit from that food, might not have been the best idea.

As of the time of this writing, it was also reported by Russian state media that the Russian Federal Customs Service has now gone as far as to propose that food imports and food ‘smuggling’ be treated very seriously. If the motion by Russia’s Customs office goes through, embargoed food coming in to Russia from banned countries would be put on the same list as weapons of mass destruction and endangered animals, according to a report from RT (Russia Today).

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the food destruction “visually, perhaps, is not very pleasant” but he requested that the media not “exaggerate the problem”. Peskov went on to say that from his perspective, the food is “pure contraband.”

Agence France-Presse noted in their reporting that the Russian language business daily Vedomosti stated the following in a front-page editorial:
“This is no ordinary measure. This is a display of barbarity, a challenge to society, a refusal to see the ethical side, where it is most important,”

Videos embedded here-within are from YouTube and used under fair use guidelines for non-commercial/journalistic purposes.