Blog

While the environmental and health harm of pesticides are well-known, many people ask: Can agriculture thrive without them? The answer, backed by a groundbreaking 10-year study in France, is a resounding YES.

A recent French study shows that common birds are far less abundant in agricultural areas where more pesticides are purchased. Negative effects were found for over 84% of the species studied.

A Romanian court of appeal had the final say in a long, toxic story. There can be no more derogation to use banned pesticides.

Snack vegetables are supposed to be a healthy, easy way to get kids to eat more greens. However, a new report by our member PAN Netherlands has sent shockwaves through the country, also resonating in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium.

The arrival of spring comes this year alongside troubling news from the European Commission. Their recent legislative rollback risks allowing even more pesticides into our fields and food.

This month's EU pesticide meeting presents a mixed picture. We finally see some long-overdue ban proposals on substances harmful to humans and wildlife under consideration. However, political deadlock persists on banning endocrine disruptors and PFAS pesticides.

The insecticide Flupyradifurone proves to be much more harmful for bees than previously thought. It also potentially poses a risk to a child’s developing brain. Like all neonicotinoids, it can pass the blood-brain barrier.

Soil covers this month’s front page of the science journal Nature, headlining with: “Down to Earth - How pesticides reshape soil biodiversity”.

The European institutions finally reached a long-awaited political agreement to update EU rules on water pollution.

Arnaud Apoteker at the Monsanto Tribunal, The Hague