Pesticide Information

Head over to www.hungry4change.eu for your chance to join the debate on the future of sustainable agricultural productivity in Europe. This November the crop protection (pesticide) industry will webcast the ‘Hungry for Change’ conference. You can have your say via Facebook and Twitter; this is a unique opportunity to share your thoughts and ideas with industry, experts and stakeholders.

The ‘super’ house-mouse and the malaria carrying mosquito have made the news recently. They are just two of a growing number of pest species that are becoming less and less effected by the chemicals we use to control them. In Europe, this is quite literally a growing problem; agricultural yields are threatened by pest resistance, and regulations lack short-term solutions. The ‘super mouse’ is not a super hero, but its story may save us with the warning it carries.

On behalf of our yellow and black striped friends, the European press has rolled up a copy of the evening edition to take a swat at the agrochemical industry. Unfortunately for bees, chasing pesticides around the room with a newspaper is not the answer.

This week in Germany, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) released the findings of a survey studying consumer knowledge about pesticides – the result – people don’t know much about pesticides. In the very same week ‘green’ activists Greenpeace Germany embarrassed themselves by publishing false claims about pesticide levels in food. A member of the public can be forgiven for missing the point about pesticides – but Greenpeace?