Study suggests pesticides 'crucial' for EU food supply

Commenting on the study, Syngenta, a global leader in agri-business, said: "The impact assessment generated by the Commission, as well as numerous assessments by various stakeholders, focused on the direct impact of the Commission proposal on the use of pesticides on the environment and on operators and consumers. Many of the comments, however, indicated that the indirect impact could well be far greater than the direct influence."

According to Syngenta, "the challenge before us in the EU is to create a proportionate balance between hazard and risk in the assessment of plant protection products, which are essential tools for farmers to use in the sustainable production of high-quality food in Europe". "If we deny farmers these tools by failing to find such a balance, we run the risk of outsourcing our food supply beyond the EU's borders, where quality and sustainability standards may not be as stringent. This could result in unnecessarily high food prices for Europe's consumers and threaten jobs in the agri-food industry," the company warns.

Elliott Cannell, Europe co-ordinator at the Pesticides Action Network, an environmental group, derided the study as "professional scaremongering", saying European politicians were being bombarded with "bad science and misinformation".

"Industry lobbyists are behaving like a posse of corporate cowboys, spreading wild rumours about the consequences of tougher legislation. In reality the proposed Regulation would give increased support to European agriculture while reducing the risks posed by hazardous pesticides. Few pesticides, if any, will actually be banned," said Cannell. "The Nomisma report reads like a bad science fiction novel [...] where only toxic pesticides can save humanity. This bizarre fantasy funded by Bayer and Syngenta is ill-conceived and has no basis in reality. This report represents a misconceived attempt by the pesticides industry to put corporate profits ahead of public health," he added. 

The Italian research institute that conducted the study, Nomisma, said that the study "was independently conducted, based on various scientific references and studies coupled with more than 25 years of experience in the field of agriculture." The institute invites all interested parties to read the report and draw their own conclusions on the basis of the data and information presented in the study. The full report can be requested from Nomisma (www.nomisma.it) at agri-food@nomisma.it.