Poland's Silent Spring; Will EU membership destroy a traditional way of life?

Byline: William Underhill

For Szczepan Master, 62, self-sufficiency is the rule on his tiny farm in view of the Tatra mountains of southern Poland. The makeshift barn attached to his house shelters a few pigs, goats and a cow, as well as chickens and rabbits for the pot. Guests can expect homemade cheese and butter on the table. Earning a living requires round-the-clock effort, but his wife and children help with the chores. "The income isn't big," says Master, "but there's great psychological satisfaction."

These days, though, Master talks of selling his pigs. Two cows are already gone, and a whole way of life may soon follow. The reason: Poland's new membership in the European Union. Suddenly, the pressure is on to adopt the same industrial-scale agriculture that has transformed the country's affluent Western neighbors. And that, in turn, could signal the gradual disappearance of a centuries-old way of life for tens of thousands of Poland's peasant farmers.

What an irony. Almost alone in Eastern Europe, Poland escaped the huge collectivizations enforced elsewhere under communism. Instead, land was carved into narrow strips to be shared out among villagers. Today Poland boasts nearly 2 million farms, averaging just 7.2 hectares each--less than a fifth the size of a typical French or British farm. Don't look for shiny new tractors and harvesters, either. Horses often haul Polish plows and carts. And environmentally damaging chemical fertilizers are almost unknown.

To be sure, the EU offers some enticing rewards, not least access to the rich markets of Western Europe and fat agricultural subsidies from Brussels. Farm incomes should rise 35 percent over the next year, according to government estimates--which explains why most farmers voted to join, says Krzysztof Mularczyk of the Foundation for the Development of Polish Agriculture.

Longer term, however, Poles must learn to compete in the broader European market. EU hygiene standards, previously unknown in Poland, must be complied with. By some accounts, Poles have already slaughtered thousands of cattle rather than meet EU rules on documentation. Meanwhile, foreigners, most notably the Danes and Dutch, are lining up to buy cheap Polish farmland. Aging Polish farmers, who are strapped for cash and whose children are opting for the cities, can be pardoned for selling. Experts foresee the start of a long process of consolidation. "If Poland still has 500,000 farms in 20 years," says Mularczyk, "that will be a lot."

That prospect is causing disquiet. Poland's fast-growing populist party Samoobrona, or Self-Defense, led by ...