We need your help

PAN UK needs your help to ensure that the most important piece of pesticide legislation in a generation is passed successfully through the European Parliament. PAN UK needs YOU to write to your MEPs and ask them to support the positive proposals soon to be debated in the European Parliament.

At stake are two new pieces of legislation; a Regulation on the Placing of Plant Protection Products on the Market and a Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides. The Regulation relates to which substances can be approved for use, the Directive relates to how pesticides can be used.

The most controversial part of the legislation is the Regulation. Much has been written in the press about the supposed negative impacts it will have on farming and food prices in the EU, a line that has been consistently pushed by the Crop Protection Association (CPA) and the National Farmers Union (NFU). Their concerns and the way in which they have been expressed are blatant scaremongering: the CPA, as the association representing the agrochemical industry, has a vested interest in trying to ensure that all pesticides remain on the market – even if that is at the expense of the health and wellbeing of the people and environment of the EU. Some examples of this industry scaremongering and the PAN UK response are provided in the box at the end of the text.

PAN UK believes that the Regulation will go a long way toward removing some of the most hazardous pesticides from the market; the carcinogens, repro-toxins, mutagens and endocrine disruptors. There is also a chance that pesticides deemed toxic to bees could be included in the proposals if voted for by MEPs.

In order for this to succeed it is essential that MEPs vote in favour of the proposals. There are some key issues that are listed below. Please write and ask them to support these issues. To find out which MEPs represent you and your region please visit: http://www.europarl.org.uk/uk_meps/MembersMain.htm

KEY ISSUES THAT NEED SUPPORTING:

Cut-Off Criteria

Six of the EU’s most hazardous pesticides are among the top 10 most common EU food contaminants. Almost half of all food samples tested in the EU are shown to contain pesticides. It is vital for the protection of European public health and food security to replace the use of the most hazardous pesticides in food production with safer alternatives. Specifically PAN UK wants to see pesticides that are deemed to be carcinogens, repro-toxins, mutagens, endocrine disruptors, developmental neurotoxins, and developmental immunotoxins taken out of use.

Protect Honeybees: Europe’s essential pollinators

Honeybees pollinate over 40% of the world’s leading food crops – including apples, citrus, tomatoes, sunflowers, rapeseed and soy – and are responsible for the production of over 80 million tonnes of EU crops per annum. Yet these essential pollinators are under threat – including from pesticides. France, Italy, Germany and Slovenia have already withdrawn key pesticides following mass bee deaths. Pesticides that are deemed toxic to bees should be withdrawn from use.

No spraying in public areas

Pesticides sprayed in public places represent a fundamental risk to human health. So as to ensure proper protection to the general public, only non chemical pest management strategies should be adopted for public areas including schools, hospitals and parks

Industry misinformation	Reality
The Regulation will lead to the loss of 85% of pesticides	The analysis that this figure is taken from is no longer accurate; in fact our colleagues in PAN Europe estimate that there might be as few as 23 active substances, out of a total of 507, banned as a result of the regulation – these only the most hazardous in terms of possible impacts on human health and the environment
Yields will drop, food prices will rise	Food prices are already rising due to a combination of factors unrelated to pesticides. However, the argument is that reduced pesticides will mean more pests and diseases leading to falling yields. Given the small number of pesticides proposed for removal this is unlikely and there are inbuilt safeguards within the legislation that will ensure this is not the case.
Pesticides will be lost 18 months after the legislation becomes law	Again this is not the case, the earliest that any pesticide will be taken off the market is 2016
The approach is unwarranted and unnecessary as pesticides are one of the most well regulated chemicals already	This argument simply does not hold water. There have been many cases in the past where chemicals once thought safe have subsequently been found to be toxic to humans or the environment. Following the precautionary principle it makes sense to stop the use of those pesticides that have the potential to cause serious long term harm to people or the environment.
Banning these pesticides will not stop food being contaminated with the same pesticides being used outside the EU	This is true, but it is already the case. Many pesticides currently banned in the EU are used elsewhere and result in residues on food eaten in EU countries. Banning hazardous pesticides in the EU could encourage other countries to do the same – which can only be a good thing.