José Bové

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José Bové (b. 1954) is a French farmer, anarcho-syndicalist, and member of the anti-globalization movement.

Bové is the son of two agricultural chemists. He was born in Bordeaux, but raised in many different places, both inside and outside France, including Berkeley, California in the United States.

After attending secondary school near Paris, he spurned University and instead joined a group of conscientious objectors to military service. This work led him into the occupation of lands which the French military had seized, where he joined a band of peasants illegally building a sheep barn. There, he learned how to become a dairy farmer, and eventually became a sheep farmer.

He remained a farmer and an activist. In 1987, he formed the Confédération Paysanne[?] (la Conf), a union of peasants. In 1995, he joined Greenpeace on their ship, the Rainbow Warrior, in opposition to nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific Ocean.

In 1999, the United States placed tariffs on the importation of Roquefort cheese as punishment for the European Union's restrictions on importing hormone-treated beef. In response, Bove and other Confédération activists dismantled a half-built McDonald's franchise in Millau[?] (Aveyron). Bové was sentenced to three months in prison for his role in the incident. He was imprisoned 44 days, and was finally released on August 01, 2002. His involvement in this incident brought the world's attention.

{Need to check the date of release from jail, there seems to be inconsistency with dates below.}

Since then, he has redoubled his efforts in the world peasant and anti-globalization movements. He was present at the 1999 protests of the World Trade Organization in Seattle; In 2001, he took part in a large action destroying genetically modified crops in Brazil. In 2002, he was arrested and deported by Israeli police while protesting Israel's actions in Ramallah.