The European Parliament is due to vote on 23rd October on a number of amendments to new legislation to regulate the use of pesticides in the European Union. Although the European Commission is introducing the bill, the amendments are still to be agreed.

The amendments in question were initiated by Georgina Downs of UK Pesticides Campaign. Georgina lives in a rural area and as such she is exposed to pesticides on a daily basis through the spraying operations of local farmers. She has been working hard to have these changes put into the legislation, but the UK National Farmers’ Union along with the chemicals industry are fighting hard against the changes. The kind of financial and political clout these two groups can wield equates to a lot of lobbying power. This means the only way the amendments will get accepted is through your support. To counter their efforts go to www.europarl.europa.eu/members/public.do?language=en to find the contact details of your MEP and let them know you want the amendments kept in the legislation.

The main amendments are:

• Prohibiting the use of pesticides in and around public areas like people's homes, public healthcare facilities, public parks, playgrounds and schools to protect vulnerable groups. The no-spray zone is required to be substantial and non-chemical alternatives must be used in these areas.
• Expanding the definition of ‘vulnerable groups’ to “Persons needing specific consideration when assessing the acute and chronic health effects of plant protection products. These include pregnant and nursing women, embryos, and fetuses, infants and children, the elderly, people who are ill and those taking medication, workers and residents subject to high pesticide exposure over the long term.”
• A requirement to inform residents and neighbours about pesticide spraying in their locality, and to give details of the pesticides being used.
• A requirement to use the term ‘pesticide’ rather than ‘plant protection product’ to describe pesticides in the documentation to avoid confusion and to ensure the toxic nature of the chemicals is not hidden.
• The prioritization of non-chemical methods of plant protection and pest and crop management to promote sustainable farming methods.

So, why is it so important to reduce our exposure to pesticides? Well, Celsias blogger Craig Mackintosh has written two highly informative articles on the subject: ‘Which Came First – Pests, or Pesticides?’ and ‘Pesticides and You’. I don’t want to repeat what Craig has already said, but there is a large amount of scientific evidence that links pesticides to a number of medical conditions, quite apart from the environmental damage they do. An excellent review of available research is called “Systematic Review of Pesticide Human Health Effects” by a team from Ontario College of Family Practitioners. This fine piece of work makes depressing reading, but it shows not only how harmful pesticides are, but how incredibly insidious chemicals manufacturers are for actually making and promoting these products. This is such an important issue, that we must all lobby our MEP and let them know how important our health and the protection of our environment is to us. We cannot sit idly by and allow the chemicals industry to dictate the political agenda. From pesticides to GM crops, the chemicals industry is determined to infiltrate every area of our lives. The long-term damage to our health of many of these chemicals is conveniently ignored by both the manufacturers and politicians. We cannot afford to ignore the potential harm these chemicals pose to us, our children, our families and our environment. It is up to us.