Even though the EU’s pesticide legislation is the most sophisticated, it has failed to achieve a reduction in use. The EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy seeks to change that. Many questions remain. This article is an excerpt from the Pesticide Atlas 2022, published on October 18th, 2022 Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union, and others. […]
CAP budget cuts? No, that’s just inflation. An EU Roundup on CAP financing, on pesticide’s – exposure to them, citizen action, facts and figures from a new Pesticide Atlas – and a vision and an action for the canteens of tomorrow. With Ashley Parsons
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In this op-ed, Matthias Wolfschmidt of Foodwatch International unpacks the EU’s food system, its reliance on cheap imports, its generation of food waste, the power of lobby groups and Europe’s subsequent reliance on damaging pesticides and fertilizers. In this context, Wolfschmidt considers how the weaponisation of hunger embeds a lock in of problematic agri-industrial inputs, while also pointing to a way out of this bind within 15 years. […]
Before the summer break, Brussels and beyond is still bustling. This round-up includes an open letter addressing the drop in numbers of EU farmers, the July 18th AGRIFISH council, and your friendly reporter’s favorite subject: pesticide regulation. By Ashley Parsons […]
On July 1 the Czech Republic took over the EU presidency until the end of the year. So what are the priorities? Reading between the lines, Ashley Parsons offers a quick analysis of the agriculture program and what to expect. […]
After months of delays, the European Commission has adopted the Regulation on the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products. The regulation proposes legally binding targets and annual reporting by Member States to reach a 50% reduction in pesticide use by 2030. There are however, some serious issues yet to be resolved. Unpacked by Ashley Parsons. […]
As decision-makers consider the future of pesticide regulation in the EU, Good Food Good Farming is running a citizen science project inviting citizens to do a “Pesticide Check-up” by getting their hair tested for pesticides. The project is open to participation until June 30. […]
“Am I really prepared to poison the kids?” wondered American wheat farmer Klaas Martens, after an injury that he suspects was caused by herbicides. He has since converted the whole farm to organic. These days, he pays attention to the story his ‘weeds’ tell him, nurturing the community of organisms in his soil – and building community knowledge among farmers. Excerpt from a book by Marianne Landzettel. […]
The AGRIFISH Council delayed tabling the legislation meant to reform plant protection products (SUR) on March 23 until ‘before summer,’ to the dismay of campaigners. ARC has a leaked version of the revised proposal. So what’s in it? And what’s next in the political wrangling around pesticides in the EU institutions – are EU member states now playing a game of pass the pesticides parcel? […]
It has emerged that the SUR – Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation – may not be announced next week, as initially planned. Rather, on Monday 21st a decision will be made to postpose or not. This is just one example of how the EU Farm to Fork strategy is in a perfect storm: the agribusiness lobby against sustainable policies is now reinforced by war in Ukraine. Op-ed by Nina Holland, researcher at Corporate Europe Observatory. Hans van Scharen, press officer at Corporate Europe Observatory. […]
With the French Presidency of the EU, some specific areas have come to the fore for farming, food and rural Europe. Under a broad-if-wooly EU Green Deal framework, carbon farming, pesticides, geographical indications, and reciprocal standards (mirror clauses) for third countries have received added impetus in this six month presidency. Ashley Parsons takes us though some of these, and some other hot topics, in this mid month round up for us. […]
Current legislation on pesticide use and data collection is insufficient both for reaching reduction targets, and for assessing whether or not the goal was even reached. Now, a leaked version with new elements of the proposed reform to the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directives (SUD) has escaped into the Brussels bubble. The document outlines options for planned reforms by the EU Commission set for March 23. So what’s in the leak? Ashley Parsons reports. […]
Imagine having a target to reduce pesticide use and risk by 50%, an aim to collect reliable data, the basic groundwork in place to reach it, and then working to make it far harder to actually collect the data to meet this target? Led by a group of 10 member states, the Council of Ministers has adopted a mandate for trilogue negotiations that does just this. […]
The success of the European Citizens’ Initiative “Save bees and farmers” in 2021 was a historic result in the journey to reduce synthetic pesticides, restore biodiversity on farmland and support farmers to transition to agroecology. If the initiative is accepted by the Commission, the Commission will have to analyse and respond to the citizens’ requests. This article originally appeared in Justice Pesticides’ December newsletter. […]
What is the scale and impact of pesticides in agri-food? Where is power expressed, and what are the costs associated with the use of these agri-industrial inputs? A new concept note and policy brief throws some light on the topic. Op-Ed by Le BASIC – Christophe Alliot, Sylvain Ly CCFD-Terre Solidaire – Maureen Jorand Pollinis – Nicolas Larmaan PAN-Europe – Martin Dermine and CEO – Hans Vanscharen. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention