Co-hosted by Friends of the Earth Europe, Child Rights International Network, Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe)
When: Wednesday 1st July, 9:00 CEST
Where: Mundo Madou, Av. des Arts 7/8, 1210 Bruxelles, Room: Artemisia Alba – or online
Register here (even if you are joining in person) - interpretation will be provided
As European governments struggle to agree on a toxic policy package that would scrap essential protections from pesticides (so-called Food Omnibus), and parliamentarians prepare their own fight on the file (1), we invite you to hear the lived experiences of parents, children and farmers suffering from pesticide exposure.
The European Commission’s Food Omnibus proposes a dangerous shift in pesticide regulation, made even worse by the leaked draft of the Dorfmann-Picaro report: moving towards lifetime approvals, reducing safety assessments, and sidelining independent science. While it’s easy to fall into the politics and negotiations around the file, it is crucial to recentre the debate on the real human impacts of such a proposal. That is why we are bringing to Brussels parents and families who have been directly harmed by pesticides, to meet with MEPs and the press.
The press conference will feature testimonies from:
- Florence Jamault: born and raised in a family of farmers, mother of a child victim of pesticide exposure, Florence chose not to stand idly by. She became an organic vegetable farmer. Producing differently, raising awareness, passing on knowledge, and humbly contributing to a necessary change have become the heart of her commitment.
- Isabelle Marchand: living in Saint-Nolff, Brittany, with her family, Isabelle’s life completely changed in 2019 when her daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. Since then, they have been fighting to understand, protect their children, and secure official recognition of the risks associated with pesticide exposure near residential areas. With one crucial question for authorities: why aren’t families living nearby spraying benefiting from the precautionary principle?
- Franck Rinchet-Girollet: father of a child who suffered from paediatric cancer and is now in remission, Franck is a spokesperson for the association Avenir Santé Environnement. He lives on a cereal plain near La Rochelle, France, an area heavily exposed to intensive agricultural practices, where several documented surges in paediatric cancers have been reported. He advocates for a gradual phase-out of synthetic pesticides, accompanied by massive investment in an ambitious agricultural transition, to place environmental health at the heart of public policy.
- Rendert Algra: farmer's son and former CDA (Christen-Democratisch Appèl – EPP) politician. Rendert suffers from Parkinson's disease and attributes his condition to his childhood exposure to pesticides while working on his old cattle farm in Kubaard, Friesland, in the Netherlands (more here).
Our policy experts will also be there to help shed light on the policy process, on what the Omnibus proposes and what the current state of discussions are, as well as the impacts if adopted.
We hope you can join us.
Notes:
(1) Policy timeline (tentative dates):
- 26 June: EU Council vote on Omnibus X (food and feed safety)
- 6 July: EU Parliament’s draft report
- 13 July: Deadline for amendments
- 5 October: EU Parliament’s environment and agriculture committees vote
- 19-22 October: EU Parliament’s plenary vote
