From the consumer perspective concern about pesticide residues in food is high in Europe and has been translated into action in a number of countries. Greenpeace Germany’s residue campaign finds evidence that residue levels in fresh produce have increased over the past few years and asks hard questions about whether EU policy on harmonising Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) across Europe will better protect consumer health (page 3). Campaigners in Austria have used media pressure to persuade some supermarket chains to undertake a ‘pesticide reduction programme’ requiring a stepwise reduction in allowed residue levels in the fresh produce they sell (page 5). In the Netherlands, environmental NGOs have achieved considerable success in gaining media attention and supermarket companies have been forced to respond, sometimes cutting particular growers and suppliers out of their chains, sometimes by offering more organic produce on their shelves (page 6). Ranking different supermarkets’ performance on residues allows concerned consumers to make a more informed choice in their purchasing decisions. 

EurepGAP, the retail-driven private assurance scheme to ensure Good Agricultural Practice is now required by an increasing number of European supermarkets. While it may deliver produce with reduced residue levels for European consumers it has been seen as a major threat to the livelihoods of small-scale farmers growing export crops in developing countries if they cannot comply with MRLs and other pesticide requirements. Project experiences from Kenya (page 10) and Zambia (page 14) show that with appropriate technical and financial support, smallholder farmers can become EurepGAP-certified and that the training process can deliver benefits for farm families and for improving the safety of crops they sell to local markets. However, for reduced or zero residue food to become widely available in African markets, there need to be incentives for farmers who practice alternative pest management, as shown by PAN Africa’s research in Senegal (page 12). 

These articles illustrate some of the potential conflicts between stricter food safety and environmental protection demands on the one hand, and the need to sustain smallholder livelihoods on the other. Responsible retail chains in Europe will not just demand residue-free produce but will support developing country growers in their efforts to achieve this. Our Food & Fairness project explores these issues with our partners PAN Africa, PAN Germany and Natuur en Milieu.