UK think-tank on revision of EU pesticides regulation: costs high and benefits low
International Policy Network, a UK think-tank, issued a statement today on their assessment of the ongoing reform of European pesticide legislation, Directive 91/414. Professor Sir Colin Berry, Emeritus Professor of Pathology at Queen Mary College, University of London, and former UK government scientist, criticised the proposed legislation saying: “The costs of implementing this legislation will be high – crop yields will fall, food prices will rise, more land will have to be farmed and fewer habitats conserved. But it is hard to imagine what the benefits will be.” He goes on to say that “if the same (hazard-based) principle were applied to the wider world, this would lead us to ban anything from bleach to coffee – even water.”
Click here to read the full statement by the International Policy Network.
Pesticide Information welcomes comments on Sir Colin Berry’s statement.
