Joseph "José" Bové (born 11 June 1953) is a French farmer, politician and syndicalist, member of the alter-globalization movement, and spokesman for Via Campesina. He was one of the twelve official candidates in the 2007 French presidential election. He served in the European Parliament as a member of the European Green Party in the 2009–2014 and 2014–2019. Early life José Bové was born in Talence, near Bordeaux, but was raised in many different places. As a child he lived both inside and outside France, including the United States. Bové speaks English fluently, as his parents moved with him to Berkeley, California when he was three. They were invited to be researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. After they returned to France, they lived in Paris. Bové attended a Jesuit secondary school near Paris (from which he was expelled for being "faithless"). While at university, he associated with anarchists and pacifists. When asked to serve in the army, he refused as a conscientious objector. While waiting for his court appeal, he went into hiding and worked in a farm. Anti-military activist In 1976, Bové joined the Fight for the Larzac, a movement protesting the proposed expansion of a military camp on the Larzac plateau. It would have displaced regional sheep farmers and changed the ecology of the area. He joined a band of peasants occupying the threatened territory and illegally building a sheep barn. The protest eventually succeeded, and the government cancelled the military plan. As a result of that experience, Bové became a sheep farmer there, producing Roquefort cheese. Agricultural unionist Bové continued both as a farmer and an activist. In 1987, he formed the Confédération Paysanne, an agricultural union. It promotes the quality of life for humans and the environment, promoting organic farming. In opposition to many companies in the profit-oriented agro-industry, Bové is a prominent opponent of genetically modified organisms (GMO). In 1995 he joined Greenpeace on their ship, the Rainbow Warrior, in a voyage to protest nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific Ocean. He has also been part of the anarchist organization Alternative Libertaire. Bové and the Confédération gained national and international attention in 1999 by dismantling a McDonald's franchise that was under construction in Millau (Aveyron). Considered by his supporters to be non-violent, Bové designed this protest against new US restrictions on importing Roquefort cheese and other products, which were harming the farmers who live