Reports

February 2024

Toxic Harvest: The rise of forever PFAS pesticides in fruit and vegetables in Europe

Fruit and vegetables in Europe are increasingly contaminated with PFAS pesticide residues. This is shown in the analysis of official data from the national monitoring programmes of pesticide residues in food in Member States. The number of European fruit and vegetables with detected PFAS pesticide residues has nearly tripled between 2011 and 2021, with a growth rate of 220% for fruit and of 274% for vegetables.

December 2023

It rains pesticides from greenhouses: The end of a myth, greenhouses are releasing pesticides into the environment

The EU makes exceptions for the use of very toxic pesticides in greenhouses. To do this they presume these are closed places, with no release of pesticides into the environment. This report shows that greenhouses are not closed systems. They do leak toxic substances into the environment. We tested rain and surface water samples for greenhouse areas in Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands and Spain. The results are alarming: we found 62 different pesticide residues. We found a cocktail of up to 35 pesticide residues in a single sample.

November 2023

Europe's Toxic Harvest: Unmasking PFAS Pesticides Authorised in Europe

Executive Summary

We reveal the presence of eternal pollutants (PFAS) among pesticide active substances. These hazardous substances are exempted from the forthcoming European restriction, while their use in agriculture is rising. Immediate action is needed to get them banned.

October 2023

Pesticides: Play it safe!

We asked IPSOS to survey consumers about their views on pesticide use. This report presents the findings of a public opinion poll in six Member States of the European Union: Denmark, France, Germany, Poland, Romania and Spain. The six countries were chosen to give a good indication of attitudes across the EU as a whole in all its geographical, climate, political and economic diversity. The survey was conducted in August 2023 by the European Public Affairs team of the market research agency IPSOS.

September 2023

Glyphosate is polluting our waters all across Europe

The current levels of glyphosate use in Europe have resulted in widespread contamination of the environment, with the herbicide being detected in human urine, house dust, soils, and surface waters. Scientific evidence indicates that the concentrations of pesticides, including glyphosate, found in the environment negatively impact the quality of our water resources and put aquatic ecosystems at risk.

June 2023

PAN Europe - Activity report 2022

Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe is part of a larger network of over 600 non-governmental organisations, institutions and individuals in more than 60 countries worldwide. PAN Europe is the regional centre for Europe alongside four other autonomous regional centres; North America, South America, Asia-Pacific and Africa. Today, PAN Europe counts 47 members among consumer, public health, and environmental protection organisations, women’s groups and educational associations, from 28 European countries of which 23 are in the EU. 

June 2023

Under the Surface: A Deep Dive Into EU Water Pollution Monitoring and Management Practices

Despite some improvements, water pollution remains a key environmental and sanitary challenge across the EU. More than twenty years after the adoption of the Water Framework Directive, less than 40% of Europe’s rivers, lakes, and coastal and transitional waters and around 70% of groundwater bodies hold good chemical status. Yet, that does not give the full picture of the state of our waters as chemical status is only assessed against a small subset of substances and largely does not take into account the effects of chemical mixtures.

March 2023

Belgium, the kingdom of pesticides

The European legislation governing the marketing of pesticides clearly defines the obligations of the Member States when assessing the risks and authorising pesticides. States, including Belgium, must put the protection of the population before the interests of production-oriented agriculture and refrain from authorising products that could harm human and animal health or the environment.

March 2023

Weed management: Alternatives to the use of glyphosate

While the use of synthetic pesticides in agriculture has helped to increase food production, this has occurred at great cost to the environment, natural resources, and human health. The 2017 United Nations (UN) report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food highlights the adverse impact of pesticide use on human rights, human health (workers, their families, bystanders, residents, and consumers), and the environment. The report also reveals that intensive agriculture based on pesticide use has not contributed to reducing world hunger.

March 2023

PAN Europe - Activity report 2021

In 2021, PAN Europe put a lot of energy in making sure that the European Commission Green Deal was converted into a specific legislation including the objective of reducing the use and risk of pesticides by 50% until 2030 and the use of the more hazardous pesticides (the candidates for substitution) by 50% until 2030.

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Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the European Union, European Commission, DG Environment, LIFE programme. Sole responsibility for this publication lies with the authors and the funders are not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein.